The Brothers Karamazov is a tale of a complicated and broken family headed by a father, Fyodor Karamazov, who becomes entangled with his three sons, whom he neglected, after both mothers died.

Dmitri, the eldest brother, has returned home, in search of his father who has in his possession the inheritance that Dmitri's mother left to him. The men quarrel over who should receive the money and the resentment deepens when the two men learn that they are both in love with the same woman, Grushenka.

Ivan, a superior intellectual, and Alyosha, an apprentice at a monastery, are the half-brothers of Dmitri and both try to help solve the quarrels between Dmitri and Fyodor. None of the men know each other really well, except for Ivan and Alyosha shared the same mother.

When it is discovered there is a fourth brother, Smerdyakov, who has been raised as a servant, more secrets start to emerge, and when Fyodor is murdered, one of the brothers is immediately given the blame. The Brothers Karamazov explores many different philosophical ideologies about family and religion and tests the strength of familial bonds, even those that are newly forged.