The setting is Russia, late in the 19th century. An engagement party is being held for Mitzy, the daughter of a duke, and the young nobleman Dmitri Ivanovich Nekhlyudov, at the estate of Duke Korchagin on the outskirts of Moscow. A large crowd of people, including Nekhlyudov's aunt Ivanovna and his friend Schonbock, have come out to bless the young couple. But news arrives at the party informing Nekhlyudov that the start of a trial in which he has been enlisted to serve as a juror has been moved forward. He leaves Korchagin's residence to fulfill his duty.