At the dilapidated country estate of Anna Petrovna Voinitseva, a group of feckless Russian aristocrats whiles away a summer afternoon. Unbeknownst to their respective spouses, local schoolteacher Platonov and the wife of Anna's stepson, Sophia, are former lovers whose meeting revives both passion and regret. Thrilled to see each other, they are nevertheless haunted by the loss of their youthful ideals.