Moscow, XIX century. Lavish balls, glittering manors and backstage intrigues. A young and enviable bachelor, Count Nikolai Sheremetyev, returns to the world of high society from the war. His arrival blows up secular circles: mothers and daughters are plotting, dreaming of getting a rich groom. But for Nikolai himself, everything is more complicated — according to his mother's will, he must marry within a year, otherwise he will lose his inheritance. At this time, the Averin family is teetering on the brink of ruin due to gambling debts of the head of the family. Their daughter Anna, a stubborn and witty noblewoman, decides to meet the count personally, hoping that he will forgive the debt.