Russian playwright Anton Chekhov is ill with tuberculosis and is cared for by his sister Maria with whom he lives in Yalta. He is desperately struggling to complete his play "The Cherry Orchard." With Maria's help, he is able to continue writing, but when Maria discovers that he has secretly married the Moscow Art Theatre actress, Olga Knipper, she feels betrayed and schemes to prevent him from returning to Moscow. When Chekhov discovers how manipulative Maria has been, they have a major confrontation.