Imperial Russia. End of the 19th century. Sergei Lvovich Zavyalov, Major-artilleryman, goes on vacation to his aunt Aglaya Dmitrievna. Zavyalov, at the insistence of his aunt, begins to look after his neighbor Polina Veresova. They spend a night of love at the hunting lodge. Polina's intimate diary falls into the hands of a man. Sergei Lvovich is shocked and immediately leaves the 'love nest'. Without unnecessary explanations, he leaves the hospitable house of Aglaya Dmitrievna and goes to visit his friend. A frustrated aunt collects a basket of apples for her nephew's trip. Zavyalov gets on the train and finds himself in a compartment with a teenager and his English teacher. The Major could not even imagine that this meeting would be fateful for him. Meanwhile, the teenager behaves defiantly and, without asking, takes an apple from Zavyalov's basket. A scandal flares up. Sobolev-Mitrofanov and Zavyalov go hunting. They find a poacher in Sobolev- Mitrofanov's lands. Zavyalov recognizes the same Englishman from the train. Meanwhile, Polina spies on Zavyalov and gets caught in the rain. She decides to take refuge in a small barn that stands next to Sobolev-Mitrofanov's estate. By the will of fate, an Englishman accidentally wanders there. Soon Zavyalov was summoned to the court. Major could not even imagine that a basket of apples would be involved in this trial. In addition, thanks to this legal case, he will drastically change his life and finally decide to tie the knot. But for this he will have to solve a certain mystery.