In a small Czech town named Jilemnice lives a brave and jovial woman Štěpa Kiliánová, who enjoys her independent life but also desires to marry and have a family. The latter proves difficult as most potential suitors do not find her to be matching ideals of a 1900s wife. Out of excessive trust and desire to marry, she marries her cousin, a sardonic, reclusive man, former lieutenant and gambler Pavel Malina, whose only wish is to find peace and forget the past. Meanwhile the groom's father and older brother are interested in Štěpa's inheritance to save their farm from ruin. The couple live through unrequited love, dislike and disappointment on Štěpa's side, since her husband does not consummate the marriage because of his impotence, due to the syphilis he caught during his excessive life-style time in the army.
