The film begins on a train bound for Saint Petersburg, where Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, recently returned to Russia after four years of treatment in a Swiss sanatorium, meets the wealthy merchant Parfyon Rogozhin.

Later, her name arises again during Myshkin's visit to the Epanchins, his only relatives, and in the household of the impoverished General Ivolgin, whose son Ganya is expected to marry Nastasya for financial gain despite her reputation as a "fallen woman."

Myshkin's first impression of her, upon seeing her portrait in the Epanchins' home, is that her joyful appearance masks immense suffering, leaving him to wonder about her true character.

Thanking him for being the first person to truly see her, she takes a stack of Rogozhin's money, throws it into the fireplace, and challenges Ganya to retrieve it barehanded, promising him the full amount if he succeeds.

When Ganya faints under the pressure, Nastasya retrieves the partially burnt money herself and tosses it to him before departing with Rogozhin, leaving behind a trail of shattered expectations and unresolved tensions.