Kievan Rus, late 10th century. After the death of his father, Svyatoslav I, ruler of Kievan Rus, the young prince Vladimir of Novgorod (Danila Kozlovsky) is forced into exile across the frozen sea to escape his treacherous half-brother Yaropolk (Aleksandr Ustyugov), who has murdered his other brother Oleg (Kirill Pletnyov) and conquered the territory of Kievan Rus. The old warrior Sveneld (Maksim Sukhanov) convinces Vladimir to assemble a Varangian armada, hoping to reconquer Novgorod from Yaropolk and ultimately face the mighty Byzantine forces.