The Literaguru team intentionally prepared a short summary for the readers diary, divided into acts, so that the reader remembered where, who and what was said. This is necessary to understand the playwright’s intent.
Act one
The beginning of spring. It was morning. A room that looks like a cave. Sugar argues with the Baron that he will never get married. Nastya reads the novel "Fatal Love". Baron laughs at her. Due to the noise, the dying Anna begins to complain. Sauer going to market. Everyone argues who will sweep the floor.
Satin tells how he used to serve in a telegraph, read many books. It turns out that Bubnov was a furrier, had his own institution. Anna gives a voice from the bed and asks her husband to open the door - she became stifled, Tick, sitting on the floor, replies that he will blow it.
The actor helps Anna and leads her into the canopy, they meet Kostylev, the owner of the rooming house - he is looking for his wife Vasilisa. Kostylev sees Mite and promises to "throw fifty dollars" for living. Kostylev reminds the actor of the outstanding debt. Then the owner goes into the room to Ashes - Ashes reminds Kostylev of the debt for the hours sold. Satin and Actor leave to get drunk.
Natasha and Luke come in. Luke is the new lodger. Ash draws attention to Natasha and tries to please her, she rejects him. Luke is friendly with everyone.
Alyoshka appears, he has just come from the station. Suddenly, Vasilisa Karpovna comes out from behind the door, seeing that the floor has not yet been swept, Vasilisa shouts at everyone. Bubnov explains this by the fact that Vasilisa could not find her lover, Ashes. Luke is called to sweep the floor.
Medvedev, a policeman, appears, it was he who took the shoemaker Alyoshka to the police station. A Kvashnya enters, it turns out that her gentleman is Medvedev. Kvashnya refuses to marry him: when her first husband died, she sat happily all day for joy alone.
Luke brings Anna into the room, saying that she must not be left alone. Suddenly, shouts come from the canopy: Vasilisa pounced on Natalia. Everyone runs to separate them. Anna remains alone with Luke: the kind and affectionate old man reminds her of her father.
Act Two
Evening. Satin, Baron, Krivoy Zob and Tatar play cards. Bubnov and Medvedev are playing checkers. Luke is sitting next to Anna. Anna tells Luka that she saw nothing but beatings and insults. She thinks that she will be tormented "in the next world."
Baron and Sateen went to drink vodka, calling Luke with them. The actor lingered with Luke, deciding to recite a poem to him. Due to drunkenness, the actor’s memory worsened - he forgot his favorite poem. The actor was upset, he tells Luka that he had already drunk his soul for a long time. The old man assures the actor that there is a way out of this situation.
Anna calls Luke to her, asks him to talk to her - her death is approaching. Luke comforts Anna. The ashes are gloomy, he quarrels with Medvedev and says that he will steal Natalia. Luke advises Ashes to calm down, advises him to move to Siberia.
Vasilisa comes in. She goes to the room to Ashes, they have a frank conversation: Ashes admits that she no longer wants to be with her. Vasilisa offers Ash to help each other: she embraces him with Natalia, and Ash will free Vasilisa from her husband. Luke tells Ash not to listen to Vasilisa and to ruin his life.
Anna is dead. Ashes and Luke go to the tavern for her husband. The actor returns, he remembered the poem. He meets Natalya and tells her that he chooses a different life, that he is ready to recover from alcoholism, to find a name.
Act Three
"Wasteland" - the yard. Early spring. Nastya tells a fictional love story. Bubnov and Baron make fun of her. Luke supports Nastya. Natasha dreams of being taken out of her rooming house.
Ashes decides to persuade Natasha to go to Siberia with him - he wants to improve and live honestly. Vasilisa hears everything and gets angry.
Luka tells Kostylev that he is leaving the rooming house. Bubnov recalls how his wife contacted another, and he was left without a workshop. Sateen told how he went to jail because of a scoundrel who pestered his sister. The tick does not understand how to live on.
Natalia’s screams are heard from Kostylev’s apartment - Vasilisa and her husband beat her. It turned out that Natalia had scald her legs. Ashes already know what was happening and ran into a shelter - he hit Kostylev hard, who shouted at him. Kostylev dies from a blow. Vasilisa, gloating, calls the police. Natalya thinks that Vasilisa is still Peple's lover, and that everything was rigged. Natalya is calling the police.
Act Four
Room for an overnight stay. Night. Everyone remembers Luke, his good attitude. The actor assures everyone that he will go to the hospital - to be treated for alcoholism. The Baron laughs at him and calls Luka a crook and a liar. Satin, unable to stand it, defends the old man, he explains that Luke lied for the good, so that those who fell in spirit believed in themselves. Baron and Nastya again have a dispute, later she declares that the Baron is in love with her. Baron wants to beat her, Nastya runs away.
The baron admits to Satin that he is afraid to live: he does not know what will happen to him. He told how he came out of a noble family, was rich and had a decent job. And then everything was drunk instantly, everything disappeared. Having felt, Baron leaves to look for Nastya.
The actor abruptly asks Tatarin to pray for him, he refuses. The actor runs away. Bubnov and Medvedev, drunk, returned from the inn. Sugar sends Medvedev to sleep. The rest sing a song, Alyosha plays the accordion.
The Baron runs in with the news - The actor hanged himself. Satin is upset that the song is ruined ...
