Alexei Ivanovich Velchaninov is a land owner who stays in Saint Petersburg for a trial about a piece of land. He receives a visit from Pavel Pavlovich Trusotsky an old acquaintance who recently became a widower. Velchaninov had an affair with Trusotsky's wife Natalia and he realizes that he is the biological father of Liza Trusotsky's eight-year-old daughter. Velchaninov who doesn't want Liza to be raised by an alcoholic brings Liza to a foster family.
