Petko was a young resident of the Bulgarian village of Gramada. He was very close to his cousins Todor and Georgi. One day, while the trio was hunting in the woods near the village, Todor went off on his own, despite the warnings of Petko's mother Zhivka. When Petko and Georgi found Todor some time later, he was dead, murdered by men from the nearby village of Kula. A young girl from Kula had run off and married a boy from Gramada against her parents wishes. Thus, Todor's murder was an act of revenge.