Should love be "the world's greatest mystery?" A tragedy? The telegraph operator Zheltkov, full of admiration and devotion, has been in love with the wife of the leader of the nobility, Vera Nikolayevna Sheyina, for several years. He confesses to her again and again in his letters filled with reverence, hope and despair.

...Are Zheltkov's feelings destined to be reciprocated? And how one evening on the Black Sea coast will forever change the lives of the main characters of this story?