In the small village of Ukleevo nothing much seems to happen -- but under the eye of Chekhov we begin to see that like any other place it's full of stories -- birth -- death -- weddings -- good and evil. And while the evil in Ukleevo might occur in any village, Chekhov creates a very deliberate moral universe.

Little by little he places the characters in front of us -- the old man who runs his business without any mercy -- the incompetent deaf son -- the daughter-in-law who appears to be a natural merchant just like the old man -- the cherished detective son who is never home -- the charitable wife -- and the poor beautiful bride.

And just when we get comfortable in our little village -- we start to see things unravel.