After a long absence Nikolai visits his father and sister Anna. Meanwhile, matriarch of the family deals with the consequences of her brother's love affair with a housekeeper, whose daughter is going to serve as Anna's maid from now on.
Anna is trying to suppress her feelings towards Dmitri Shadursky, a married man, but her hateful maid Natasha convinces Anna to pursue Dmitri. Meanwhile, his wife is thinking about having an affair too.
Anna's father learns about her affair with Dmitri. Unable to cope, he suffers a heart attack. Anna is pregnant and Dmitri knows about it. Anna also wants to reveal the truth to her mother, but Natasha convinces her to keep silent.
Anna tries to deliver her baby in secret, but Natasha ruins her plans. She steals the newborn and drops it at Dmitri's house, she spreads rumors about the baby among the nobility of Petersburg. Anna's own mother is about to forsake her.
Anna's mother has a change of heart and she wants to reconcile with her daughter. Natasha tries to prevent it. Meanwhile Bodlewsky, an admirer of Natasha, uses his ties to the criminal underworld in order to buy a new passport for her.
