A famous painter lives in idleness in the estate of the landlord Belokurov. Once he meets a family of Volchaninov's living in the neighborhood, in which there are two daughters: the eldest (Lydia), a serious and strict girl with convictions, who tries to help ordinary people and doesn't like the artist very much for his idleness, and the youngest (Zhenya or Misyus), which soon takes a great interest in the artist. The painter also falls in love with Zhenya, but Lydia destroys their happiness ...