Moscow mid-XIX century. Middle-aged provincial businessman Savva Gennadievich Vasilkov falls in love with local beauty Lidiya Yuryevna Cheboksarova. Wanting to meet her, he asks his new acquaintance Telyatev to introduce himself as Cheboksarov. Telyatev and his friend Glumov decide to play the mother of Lidiya, Nadezhda Antonovna, who wants to get a rich son-in-law, and recommend Vasilkov as a gold mining millionaire from Siberia. Savva Gennadievich begins to visit the Cheboksarovs house, but his provincialism and Lydiya’s intention to create a brilliant party due to their beauty prevent them from finding a common language.