In 1913, on a garbage dump on the outskirts of Nizhny Novgorod, shipping magnate Vassa Borisovna Zheleznova watches as her one-year-old passenger steamer, named after her son Fyodor, burns and sinks into the Volga. The vessel, valued at 300,000 rubles, is destroyed by the drunken negligence of sailor Shalamov, who had been hired years ago to save Fyodor from drowning. Frustrated, Vassa returns to the city on foot when her chauffeur Alexei Pyatorkin delays departure to tinker with the car engine.
Back home, Vassa meets Yuri Vasilyevich Melnikov from the district court, whom she has hired to mitigate charges against her husband, Sergei Petrovich Zheleznov. Despite bribes, Melnikov reveals damning evidence: photos and testimony showing Sergei with underage girls in a brothel, leaving Sergei facing possible conviction and hard labor. Vassa, worried for her daughters, Natalia and Lyudmila, decides to shield the family’s name and protect her grandson, Nikolai, at any cost.
Vassa confronts Sergei, pleading for him to safeguard their daughters’ futures and Nikolai’s reputation by avoiding a public trial. She even offers him poison, a drastic act that underscores the pressure she feels to keep the truth buried. The argument is overheard by Vassa’s brother, Prokhor Borisovich Khrapov, and their maid Lisa, adding to the sense that the household is unraveling.
Meanwhile, Natalia learns from Melnikov’s son about her father’s looming prosecution and informs her uncle, who questions Vassa’s decision to marry an older captain. During a tense family gathering, a scream rings out: Lisa has found Sergei dead in his room. Later, a new family steamer is christened in Nikolai’s name, a hopeful symbol that sits beside the family’s crisis.
That evening, Rachel Moiseyevna Topaz arrives from Switzerland, demanding custody of her son Nikolai. Vassa stubbornly refuses, threatening to involve the police. As tensions rise, Prokhor holds a wild evening that borders on debauchery, pushing Vassa to consider her next moves. She orders Natalia to travel to Switzerland with her trusted servant, Anna Vasilyevna Onoschenkova, to support Fyodor in his last days, though Natalia resists. Anna tries to keep the household functioning, reporting Rachel’s presence to the authorities when needed.
The next morning, Anna finds Vassa lifeless in her chair. With Vassa gone, Prokhor makes a last bid to seize the estate, but [Alexei] arrives with a will naming Anna as the sisters’ guardian. Prokhor’s plan to destroy the will fails, and Rachel, who is not seeking the estate, asks only for news of her son. As Anna steps into Vassa’s authority, Lyudmila collapses in shock, leaving the family legacy in upheaval.
