The Great Sinner

The film opens with Fedya writing his memoir in a rundown attic in Wiesbaden during the 1860s. A violent storm blasts the windows, scattering pages of the manuscript as Pauline enters and closes the windows. She notices that the pages are a memoir Fedya has been composing.

During a train ride from Moscow to Paris, Fedya, a writer, crosses paths with Pauline, who passes the time playing solitaire. He is drawn to her and follows her when she disembarks at Wiesbaden, and together they head toward a casino.

Fedya decides to stay in Wiesbaden to observe gambling addicts after seeing the casino world and Pauline. He intends to write a character study and begins to embed himself in the scene.

Aristide Pitard, an old thief and gambler, challenges Fedya by claiming Fedya's winnings. Fedya offers money to let him leave the city, but Aristide gambles the money away and ultimately shoots himself in desperation. Before dying, Aristide gives Fedya a pawn ticket that will later drive the plot.

In the pawnshop, Fedya discovers the pledged item is a religious medal and learns it belongs to Pauline. This revelation links the pawn ticket to the woman he loves and deepens his involvement in her life.

Fedya falls deeply in love with Pauline, despite her father's disapproval. He learns that Pauline is pledged to an arranged marriage with Armand de Glasse, not for love but as payment of her father's debts.

To free Pauline from debt, Fedya decides to gamble to raise 200,000 DM owed to Armand de Glasse. He begins a gambling spree, hoping to win enough money.

Fedya enjoys a sudden roulette windfall that temporarily pays off the debt, but the streak feeds his growing addiction. He becomes a compulsive gambler as his winnings rise.

Armand refuses to redeem the marker until banks reopen the next day, pushing Fedya into a panic. He deposits the winnings in the hotel safe but is distracted by his lucky numbers and loses most of the money.

Fedya returns to Armand's private Baccarat game, borrows more to continue gambling, and loses everything—including his future earnings. Armand gleefully takes what remains.

Completely wiped out, Fedya tries to pawn Pauline's religious medal. In a delirious moment he nearly harms the pawnbroker Emma Getzel and is confronted by an apparition of Aristide.

Pauline's grandmother arrives, and the General uses baccarat to draw her in. She loses her fortune of 8 million DM and dies at the table, marking a grim culmination of the gambling world around them.

Fedya completes his manuscript on gambling obsession, and Pauline forgives him for his behavior. The film closes on a note of reconciliation as the memoir becomes a closing testament.