Away from his native Moscow, in a provincial town to care for his ailing sister, Laptev falls instantly in love with Yulia Sergeyevna, the daughter of the local doctor. She in turn feels nothing for him, but convinces herself it would be doing him a gross disservice to refuse his proposal. So begins the unequal marriage between the two; a marriage that will bring a bitter and desperate sorrow to them both. Yet as the years go by, and as they face and overcome tragedy together, they learn to value each other in new ways – and so restore their faith in the redemptive power of time.