In a small Russian town at the turn of the century, three sisters - Olga, Irina (Louise Purnell) and Masha - and their brother Andrei live, but dream daily of their return to their former home in Moscow, where life is charming, stimulating and meaningful. But for now, they exist in a malaise of dissatisfaction. Soldiers from the local military post provide them some companionship and society, but nothing can suffice to replace Moscow in their hopes. Andrei marries a provincial girl, Natasha, and begins to settle into a life of much less meaning than he had hoped. Natasha begins to run the family her way. Masha, though married, yearns for the sophisticated life and begins a dalliance with Vershinin, an Army Colonel with a sick and suicidal wife. Even Irina, the freshest, most optimistic of the sisters, begins to waver in her dreams until, finally, tragedy strikes.
—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>