In a splendid country house beside a beautiful lake, love triangles, intrigue and thwarted egos are running amok. The ageing starlet Irina Arkadina has arrived for a romantic getaway with her much younger lover, the novelist Trigorin. Arkadina’s son, the struggling playwright Konstantin, is besotted with a beautiful young ingenue from the next house over, Nina. When a flirtation blossoms between Nina and Trigorin, jealousy and ambition throw the whole party into various states of crisis.