Countess Tatya Kalinskaya resigns herself to a bleak future as she watches her friends one by one fall in love and get married. She is still beautiful, but who would want a widow who is unable to walk or dance? Then Vassily Karachev returns to St. Petersburg and suddenly Tatya finds a kindred spirit. He tells her that she needs a lover, someone to talk with, to bring her flowers and gifts and a little excitement, perhaps, even a few kisses... What possible harm can there be in this innocent game ­ unless one of them should really fall in love?