Petersburg day tends to be late in the evening, and everyone who usually gathers at the card table by this time begins to bring themselves into an appropriate form. Two friends are also gathering - Boris Pavlovich Raysky and Ivan Ivanovich Ayanov - to spend this evening again in the Pakhotins' house, where the owner himself, Nikolai Vasilievich, his two sisters, the old virgins Anna Vasilievna and Nadezhda Vasilievna, as well as a young widow, daughter Pakhotina, a beauty Sofia Belovodova, which is the main interest in this house for Boris Pavlovich.

Ivan Ivanovich is a simple man, without any invention, he goes to the Pakhotins only in order to spread cards with inveterate players, old maids. Another thing is Paradise; he needs to stir Sophia, his distant relative, turning her from a cold marble statue into a living, passionate woman.

Boris Pavlovich Raysky is obsessed with passions: he draws a little, writes a little, plays music, putting strength and passion of the soul into all his activities. But this is not enough - Paradise needs to arouse passions in and around to constantly feel itself in the boiling of life, at the point of contact of everything with everything that he calls Ayanova: "Life is a novel, and romance is life." We get to know him at the moment when "Paradise for thirty years, but he has not sowed anything yet, has not shaken and has not walked on any track that people come from inside Russia."

Arriving once in Petersburg from a family estate, Paradise, having learned a little of everything, did not find his calling in anything.

He understood only one thing: the main thing for him was art; that which especially touches the soul, making it burn with passionate fire. In this mood, Boris Pavlovich goes on vacation to the estate, which, after the death of his parents, is managed by his cousin Tatyana Markovna Berezhkova, an old maid who, from time immemorial, was not allowed to marry her chosen one, Tit Nikonovich Vatutin. He remained a bachelor and he goes all his life to Tatyana Markovna, never forgetting the gifts for her and the two relative girls whom she brings up - orphans Verochka and Marfenka.

Robin, Paradise estate, a blessed corner in which there is a place for everything pleasing to the eye. Only here the terrible precipice, which ends the garden, scares the inhabitants of the house: according to legend, at the bottom of it in ancient times, "killed his wife and rival for infidelity, and then he was stabbed to death, one jealous husband, a tailor from the city. They buried a suicide bomber at the crime scene. ”

Tatyana Markovna joyfully met her grandson who had come for the holidays - she tried to bring him up to date, show the economy, addicted to it, but Boris Pavlovich remained indifferent to the economy and the necessary visits. Only poetic impressions could affect his soul, but they did not connect in any way with the thunderstorm of the city, Neil Andreevich, whom his grandmother certainly wanted to introduce, neither with the provincial coquette Polina Karpovna Kritskaya, nor with the popular family of old Molochkovs, as if Filemon and Bavkida had lived their age inextricably ...

Vacations flew by and Paradise returned to Petersburg. Here, at the university, he became close to Leonty Kozlov, the son of a deacon, “filled with poverty and timidity.” It is not clear what could bring together so many different young people: a young man who dreams of becoming a teacher somewhere in a remote Russian corner, and a hesitant poet, artist, obsessed with the passions of a romantic young man. However, they became truly close to each other.

But university life ended, Leontius left for the province, and Paradise can not find the real thing in life, continuing his amateurism. And his white-marble cousin Sofya, Boris Pavlovich, all seems to be the most important goal in life: to arouse fire in her, make her experience what the “thunderstorm of life” is, write a novel about her, paint her portrait ... He spends all evenings with the Pakhotins, preaching to Sofya the truth of life. One such evening, Sophia’s father, Nikolai Vasilievich, brings Count Milari, "an excellent musician and amiable young man," to the house.

Returning home that memorable evening, Boris Pavlovich can’t find a place: he either peers at the portrait of Sophia that he started, or re-reads the once-begun essay about a young woman in which he managed to arouse passion and even lead to a “fall”, alas , Natasha is no longer alive, and the genuine feeling was not imprinted in the pages written by him. "The episode, turning into a memory, presented itself to him as a strange event."

Meanwhile, summer came, Paradise received a letter from Tatyana Markovna, in which she called her grandson to the blessed Robin, a letter came from Leonty Kozlov, who lived near the family estate of Paradise. “This fate sends me ...” - decided Boris Pavlovich, already bored of arousing passions in Sophia Belovodova. In addition, there was a slight embarrassment - Paradise decided to show his portrait of Sofia Ayanov, which he painted, and he, looking at the work of Boris Pavlovich, delivered his verdict: "She is as if drunk here." The artist Semen Semenovich Kirilov did not appreciate the portrait either, Sofya herself found that Paradise had flattered her - she was not like that ...

The first person that Paradise meets in the estate is a young charming girl who does not notice him, busy feeding poultry. Her whole appearance breathes such freshness, purity, grace that Paradise understands - here, in Robin, he is destined to find the beauty in search of which he languished in cold Petersburg.

Joyfully greeted by Paradise Tatyana Markovna, Marfenka (she turned out to be that very girl), a servant. Only cousin Vera is visiting the Volga with her fellow girlfriend. And again, the grandmother tries to captivate Paradise with household chores, which still do not interest Boris Pavlovich at all - he is ready to present the estate to Vera and Marfenka, which causes Tatyana Markovna’s anger ...

In Malinovka, despite the joyful troubles associated with the arrival of Paradise, everyday life is going on: the servant Savely is called upon to give a report to the landowner who has arrived, Leonti Kozlov teaches children.

But here is a surprise: Kozlov was married, but to whom! On Ulenka, the flirtatious daughter of “the housekeeper of some public institution in Moscow,” where they held a table for incoming students. All of them were then gradually in love with Ulenka, one Kozlov did not notice her cameo profile, but it was she who eventually married her and went to a far corner of Russia, to the Volga. Different rumors are circulating about her around the city, Ulenka warns Raysky about what he can hear, and asks in advance not to believe anything - clearly in the hope that he, Boris Pavlovich, will not remain indifferent to her charms ...

Upon returning home, Paradise finds a full estate of guests - Tit Nikonovich, Polina Karpovna, everyone came together to look at the matured owner of the estate, grandmother’s pride. And many sent congratulations on their arrival. And the usual village life with all its charms and joys rolled down the well-worn rut. Paradise gets acquainted with the surroundings, delves into the life of people close to him. The courtyards find out their relationship, and Paradise witnesses Savely's wild jealousy of his unfaithful wife, Marina, a trusted servant of Vera. This is where true passions boil! ..

And Polina Karpovna Kritskaya? Well, whoever would have willingly succumbed to Paradise's sermons, had come to his mind to enthrall this aging coquette! She literally climbs out of her skin to attract his attention, and then carry the news throughout the town that Boris Pavlovich could not resist her. But Paradise in horror shies from a madwoman mad about love.

Quietly, quietly stretched days in Robin. Only now, Faith does not return from the fallow; Boris Pavlovich does not waste time in vain - he is trying to “form” Marfenka, slowly discovering her tastes and passions in literature, painting, in order to begin to awaken an authentic life in her too. Sometimes he comes into the house of Kozlov. And one day he meets with Mark Volokhov there: “of the fifteenth grade, an official under the supervision of the police, an involuntary citizen of the local city,” as he himself recommended.

Mark seems a Paradise man funny - he had already managed to hear a lot of horrors from his grandmother about him, but now, having met, invites him to dinner. Their impromptu dinner with the indispensable zhenka in Boris Pavlovich’s room wakes Tatyana Markovna, frightening of fires, and she is horrified by the presence in the house of this man, who had fallen asleep like a dog, without a pillow, curled up.

Mark Volokhov also considers it his duty to awaken people - only, unlike Paradise, not a specific woman from the soul’s sleep to the thunder of life, but abstract people to anxieties, dangers, reading forbidden books. He does not think to hide his simple and cynical philosophy, which almost all boils down to his personal benefit, and even in his own way is charming in such a childlike openness. And Paradise is fascinated by Mark - his nebula, his mystery, but it is at this moment that the long-awaited Vera returns from behind the Volga.

It turns out to be completely different from what Boris Pavlovich expected to see her - closed, not going to frank confessions and conversations, with her small and big secrets, riddles. Paradise understands how much he needs to unravel his cousin, to know her secret life, the existence of which he does not doubt for a moment ...

And gradually in the refined Paradise wild Savelius awakens: as this yard man watches his wife Marina, so Paradise “at all times knew where she was doing what. In general, his abilities, aimed at one thing occupying him, were refined to an incredible subtlety, and now, in this silent observation of the Faith, they have reached a degree of clairvoyance. "

Meanwhile, the grandmother Tatyana Markovna dreams of marrying Boris Pavlovich to the daughter of a farmer, so that he will forever settle in his native land. Paradise refuses such an honor - there is so much around the mysterious, that it is necessary to unravel, and he will suddenly hit upon his grandmother’s will in such prose! .. Moreover, a lot of events are unfolding around Boris Pavlovich. A young man Vikentiev appears, and Paradise instantly sees the beginning of his romance with Marfenka, their mutual attraction. Vera still kills Paradise with her indifference, Mark Volokhov disappeared somewhere, and Boris Pavlovich sets off to look for him. However, this time Mark is not able to entertain Boris Pavlovich - he alludes to the fact that he knows well about Paradise's attitude to Vera, about her indifference and fruitless attempts of the capital's cousin to awaken a living soul in the provincial. Finally, Vera herself cannot stand it either: she resolutely asks Paradise not to spy on her everywhere, to leave her alone. The conversation ends as if by reconciliation: now Paradise and Vera can calmly and seriously talk about books, about people, about understanding of life by each of them. But Paradise is not enough ...

Tatyana Markovna Berezhkova nevertheless at least insisted on her own, and one fine day the whole city society was invited to Malinovka for a gala dinner in honor of Boris Pavlovich. But a decent acquaintance never succeeds - a scandal breaks out in the house, Boris Pavlovich openly tells the venerable Nil Andreyevich Tychkov everything he thinks about him, and Tatyana Markovna herself unexpectedly takes the side of her grandson: “I was swollen with pride, and pride was a drunken vice , leads to oblivion. Sober up, stand up and bow: Tatyana Markovna Berezhkova is standing in front of you! ” Tychkov with shame expelled from Robin, and subdued by the honesty of Paradise Faith kisses him for the first time. But, alas, this kiss does not mean anything, and Paradise is about to return to Petersburg, to his usual life, his familiar environment.

True, neither Vera nor Mark Volokhov believe in his imminent departure, and Paradise himself cannot leave, feeling the movement of life around him, inaccessible to him. Moreover, Vera again leaves for the Volga to a friend.

In her absence, Paradise tries to find out from Tatyana Markovna: what kind of person is Vera, what exactly are the features of her character. And she learns that her grandmother considers herself extremely close to Vera, loves her with a deep, respectful, compassionate love, seeing in her in some sense her own repetition. From her, Paradise also learns about a person who does not know “how to start, how to get married” to Vera. This is forester Ivan Ivanovich Tushin.

Not knowing how to get rid of thoughts about Vera, Boris Pavlovich gives Kritskaya to take himself to her house, from there he goes to Kozlov, where Ulenka meets him with open arms. And Paradise could not resist her charms ...

On a thunderstorm night, Vera brings Tushin on his horses - finally Paradise has the opportunity to see the man Tatyana Markovna told him about. And again he is obsessed with jealousy and is going to Petersburg. And again she remains, unable to leave without having unraveled the secret of Vera.

Paradise even succeeds in disturbing Tatyana Markovna with constant thoughts and reasoning that Vera is in love, and her grandmother is planning an experiment: a family reading an instructive book about Kunigund, who is in love against the will of her parents and ended her days in the monastery. The effect is completely unexpected: Vera remains indifferent and almost falls asleep over the book, and Marfenka and Vikentyev, thanks to an edifying novel, are explained in love by nightingale singing. The next day, mother of Vikentyeva, Marya Yegorovna, comes to Malinovka — official matchmaking and conspiracy are taking place. Marfenka becomes a bride.

And Vera? .. Her chosen one is Mark Volokhov. She goes to see him on a cliff, where a jealous suicide is buried, she dreams of calling her a husband, remaking first in her image and likeness. Faith and Mark are separated by too much: all concepts of morality, goodness, decency, but Vera hopes to persuade her chosen one to what is right in the "old truth". Love and honor are not empty words for her. Their love is more reminiscent of a duel between two beliefs, two truths, but in this duel the characters of Mark and Faith are more and more clearly manifested.

Paradise still does not know who is elected by his cousin. He is still immersed in the riddle, still looking gloomy at the surroundings. And the peace of the town, meanwhile, was shocked by the flight of Ulenka from Kozlov with teacher Monsieur Charles. Leontius's despair is limitless, Paradise and Mark are trying to bring Kozlov to life.

Yes, passions really boil around Boris Pavlovich! A letter has already been received from Petersburg from Ayanov, in which an old friend talks about Sophia’s romance with Count Milari - in strict terms, what happened between them is no romance, but the light regarded Belovodova’s “false step” as compromising her, and thus the relationship of the Pakhotin’s house with the count ended.

The letter, which could have only recently touched Paradise, does not make a particularly strong impression on him: all the thoughts, all the feelings of Boris Pavlovich are completely occupied by Vera. Imperceptibly the evening comes on the eve of the engagement Marfenka. Faith again goes to the cliff, and Paradise is waiting for her at the very edge, realizing - why, where and to whom his unfortunate, obsessed cousin went to love. An orange bouquet ordered for Marfenka for her celebration, which coincided with her birthday, Paradise brutally throws out the window to Vera, who is falling without feelings at the sight of this gift ...

The next day, Vera gets sick - her horror lies in the need to tell her grandmother about her fall, but she is not able to do this, especially since the house is full of guests, and Marfenka is escorted to the Vikentyevs.Having opened everything to Paradise, and then Tushin, Vera calms down for a while - Boris Pavlovich tells Tatyana Markovna what happened at the request of Vera.

Day and night Tatyana Markovna nurses her misfortune - she walks nonstop around the house, in the garden, in the fields around the Robin, and no one can stop her: “God visited, I don’t go myself. His strength is - must be endured to the end. If I fall, pick me up ... ”says Tatyana Markovna to her grandson. After many hours of vigil, Tatyana Markovna comes to Vera, who is in a fever.

Leaving Vera, Tatyana Markovna understands how it is necessary for both of them to lighten her soul: and then Vera hears a terrible confession from her grandmother about her old sin. Once in her youth, the unloved man who had wooed her, found Tatyana Markovna in the conservatory with Tit Nikonovich and took an oath from her to never marry ...