Big raindrops were pattering on the dark windows. It was one of those disgusting summer holiday rains which, when they have begun, last a long time - for weeks, till the frozen holiday maker grows used to it and sinks into complete apathy. It was cold; there was a feeling of raw, unpleasant dampness.

The mother-in-law of a lawyer, called Kvashin, and his wife, Nadyezhda Filippovna, dressed in waterproofs and shawls, were sitting over the dinner table in the dining room.

Read in English, unabridged.