Pozdnycheff, a young party animal, destroyed by his lightness the marital happiness of one of his childhood friends who committed suicide. Since then, he is haunted by the memory.

At the beginning of the 20th century, in Saint Petersburg, the high official Borowsky takes in his friend Serge Pozdnycheff, ruined for having led a life of debauchery. Serge seduces Sonia, Borowsky's wife, which pushes the latter to suicide. Seized with remorse, Serge moved to the family estate with his mother, in the countryside. He meets Hélène Voronine and marries her. A few years later, the couple moved to St. Petersburg with their young son, Vassia. Through Katia, her younger sister, Hélène frequents social fairs and thus meets the virtuoso violinist Toukatchewsky.