When the aging Russian Prince Prince K. arrives in the town of Mordasov Marya Alexandrovna Moskaleva a doyenne of local society life takes him under her protection with the aim of engineering his marriage with her 23 year old daughter Zina. Yet with many rivals for the hands of both parties events are not guaranteed to run smoothly. The gossiping and rumor of the country village are deftly captured in Dostoevsky's mock-heroic tone. A rare foray into comedy by the giant of Russian literature this tale nonetheless still possesses all the hallmarks of Dostoevsky's psychological and philosophical writing.