Maria Nikolaevna, the wife of a humble bank employee, leads a quiet life with her husband and baby. By chance she meets Lidia, a childhood friend, who as the inheritor of her husband’s fortune, introduces her to the worldly pleasures of high society. Through her friend, Maria meets a wealthy and influential man, Lebedev. Falling wildly in love with her, he decides to court the young woman. Nevertheless, Maria refuses to yield to his advances.