Kolya Kasatkin, who saw in his wife Tanyusha the ideal of female charm, tenderness, kindness, who loved her to the point of oblivion, was at a loss before the idle conversations of well-wishers about his wife's betrayal. Having found his wife with the choir director, Nikolai demanded a divorce. Continuing to love each other, the former spouses are unhappy in separation. Kasatkin's new hasty marriage did not return his peace of mind. In daily agony, in the pursuit of a past life, he also lost his old dream, to live and work in the Far East, where he served in the army. Both realized too late that love does not forgive hasty decisions, that it must be able to keep and protect.