Protasov, detached and idealistic, wants only to immerse himself in chemical experiements to perfect mankind. He's more or less oblivious to the advances of the half-crazed widow Melaniya and his best friend's pursuit of his wife, let alone the cholera epidemic and the starving mob at his gates. While Nanny fusses round, Protasov's admiring circle, variously sceptical, romantic and lovesick, spar over culture and the cosmos. Only Liza feels the suffering of the peasantry and senses that their own privileged world is in jeopardy.