[4] Set in mid-19th century Moscow, the story follows Savva Gennadyevich Vasilkov, a middle-aged provincial merchant who falls in love with the beautiful Lydia Yuryevna Cheboksarova.

To meet her, he enlists the help of his acquaintance Telyatev, who, along with his friend Glumov, devises a plan to prank Lydia’s mother, Nadezhda Antonovna.

Vasilkov begins visiting the Cheboksarov household, but his provincial manners clash with Lydia's aspirations of marrying into high society.

Pressured by her mother to secure a wealthy husband, Lydia initially sets her sights on Telyatev, who only seeks a casual flirtation and refuses to marry.

Vasilkov agrees to settle Lydia's debts but imposes a condition: she must serve as a housekeeper in his mother's household for a period as a form of penance.