The captain of artillery and his wife Alice, a former actress, live in a fortress on the island. They are sitting in the living room, located in the fortress tower, and talking about the upcoming silver wedding. The captain believes that it must be noted without fail, while Alice would prefer to hide their family hell from strangers. The captain conciliatoryly notes that there were good moments in their life and they should not be forgotten, because life is short, and then - the end of everything: “It only remains to take out the car and take out the garden!” “So much fuss over the garden!” Alice replies sarcastically. Spouses are bored; not knowing what to do, they sit down to play cards. That evening, everyone gathered for a dinner party with the doctor, but the Captain was not at odds with him, as with everyone else, so they were at home with Alice. Alice is worried that due to the Captain’s heavy nature, their children grow up without society. Cousin Alice Kurt, after a fifteen-year absence, arrived from America and was appointed to the island as quarantine chief. He arrived in the morning, but had not yet appeared with them. They suggest that Kurt went to the doctor. The knock of the telegraph apparatus is heard: it is Judith, the daughter of Captain and Alice, informs them from the city that he does not go to school, and asks for money. The captain yawns: he and Alice say the same thing every day, it bored him. Usually, to the wife’s remark that children always do their own thing in this house, he replies that this is not only his house, but also hers, and since he already answered her five hundred times, now he simply yawned.

The maid reports that Kurt came. Captain and Alice rejoice at his arrival. Talking about themselves, they try to soften the colors, pretend that they live happily, but can not pretend for a long time and soon again begin to scold. Kurt feels that the walls of their house seem to be oozing poison and hatred has thickened so hard to breathe. The captain leaves to check the posts. Left alone with Kurt, Alice complains about his life, about a tyrant husband who cannot get along with anyone; even their servants are not kept, and for the most part Alice has to do the housework herself. The captain sets up the children against Alice, so now the children live separately in the city. Inviting Kurt to stay for dinner, Alice was sure that there was food in the house, but it turned out that there was not even a crust of bread. The captain is back. He immediately suspects that Alice managed to complain to him about Kurt. Suddenly, the Captain faints. Recovering, he soon faints again. Kurt is trying to call a doctor. Waking up, the Captain discusses with Alice whether all couples are as unhappy as they are. Having rummaged in memory, they cannot remember a single happy family. Seeing Kurt not returning. The captain decides that he turned away from them, and immediately begins to talk nasty things about him.

Soon, Kurt arrives, who found out from the doctor that the Captain has sclerosis of the heart and he needs to take care of himself, otherwise he may die. The captain is put to bed, and Kurt remains at his bedside. Alice is very grateful to Kurt for wanting good for both of them. When Alice leaves. The captain asks Kurt to take care of his children if he dies. The captain does not believe in hell. Kurt is surprised: after all, the Captain lives in the heat. The captain objects: this is just a metaphor. Kurt replies: “You portrayed your hell with such reliability that there can be no question of metaphors - neither poetic, nor any other!” The captain does not want to die. He talks about religion and is finally comforted by the thought of the immortality of the soul. The captain falls asleep. In a conversation with Alice, Kurt accuses the Captain of arrogance, because he argues according to the principle: “I exist, therefore. God exists". Alice tells Kurt that the Captain had a hard life, he had to start working early to help his family. Alice says that in her youth she admired the Captain and was terrified of him at the same time. Speaking of the Captain's shortcomings again, she can no longer stop. Kurt reminds her that they were only going to talk about Captain good. “After his death,” Alice replies, when the Captain wakes up, Kurt persuades him to write a will so that after his death Alice is not left without a livelihood, but the Captain does not agree. The Colonel, at the request of Alice, gives the Captain leave, but the Captain does not want to plead ill and does not want to go on vacation. He goes to the battery. Kurt tells Alice that the Captain, when it seemed to him that life was leaving him, began to cling to Kurt's life, began to ask about his affairs, as if he wanted to get into him and live his life. Alice warns Kurt not to allow the Captain to his family, to introduce his children, otherwise the Captain will take them and move them away from him. She tells Kurt what exactly the Captain arranged for Kurt to be deprived of children during a divorce, and now regularly curses Kurt for allegedly abandoning his children. Kurt is amazed: because at night, thinking that he was dying, the Captain asked him to take care of his children. Kurt has promised and is not going to vent his grudge against the children. Alice believes that keeping her word is the best way to avenge the Captain, who hates nobility more than anything else.

Having been in the city. The captain returns to the fortress and says that the doctor did not find anything serious with him and said that he would live another twenty years if he would take care of himself. In addition, he reports that Kurt’s son received an appointment to the fortress and will soon arrive on the island. This news does not please Kurt, but the Captain is not interested in his opinion. And again: The captain filed for divorce in the city court, because he intends to connect his life with another woman. In response, Alice says that he can accuse the Captain of an attempt on her life: once he pushed her into the sea. Their daughter Judith saw this, but since she is always on the side of her father, she will not testify against him. Alice feels powerless. Kurt suffers compassion for her. He is ready to start the fight with the Captain. Kurt arrived on the island, not melting anger in his soul, he forgave the Captain all his past sins, even the fact that the Captain had separated him from his children, but now that the Captain wants to take his son away from him, Kurt decides to destroy the Captain. Alice offers him his help: she knows something about the dark affairs of the Captain and bayonet-cadet who committed embezzlement. Alice rejoices in anticipation of victory. She recalls how in his youth Kurt was not indifferent to her, and tries to seduce him. Kurt rushes to her, squeezes her in his arms and bites his teeth into her neck so that she screams.

Alice rejoices that she has found six witnesses ready to testify against the Captain. Kurt becomes sorry for him, but Alice scolds Kurt for cowardice. Kurt seems to be in hell. The captain wants to talk face to face with Kurt. He admits that the doctor actually told him that he would not last long. Everything that he says about the divorce and the appointment of Kurt’s son to the fortress is also untrue, and he apologizes to Kurt. Kurt asks why the Captain pushed Alice into the sea. The captain himself does not know: Alice was standing on the pier, and it suddenly seemed to him completely natural to push her down. Her revenge also seems completely natural to him: since the Captain looked into death's eyes, he gained cynical humility. He asks Kurt who he thinks is right: he or Alice. Kurt recognizes none of them right and sympathizes with both of them. They shake hands. Alice enters. She asks the Captain how his new wife feels, and says, kissing Kurt, that her lover is feeling great. The captain bares his saber and throws himself at Alice, chopping left and right, but his blows hit the furniture. Alice calls for help, but Kurt does not move his place. Cursing them both, he leaves. Alice calls Kurt a scoundrel and a hypocrite. The captain tells her that his words that he will live another twenty years and everything else that he said when he arrived from the city is also untrue. Alice is desperate: she did everything to imprison the Captain, and they are about to come. If she managed to save him from prison, she would faithfully care for him, would love him. The telegraph apparatus is knocking: everything worked out. Alice and the Captain rejoice: they have already tortured each other enough, now they will live peacefully. The captain knows that Alice tried to destroy him, but he crossed out this and is ready to move on. She and Alice decide to celebrate their silver wedding. Kurt's son Allan sits in his father’s richly decorated living room and solves problems. Judith, the daughter of Captain and Alice, calls on him to play tennis, but the young man refuses, Allan is clearly in love with Judith, and she flirts with him and tries to torture him.

Alice suspects that the Captain is up to something, but she just can't figure it out. Once she was forgotten when she saw the deliverer in Kurt, but then she came to her senses and believes that it is possible to forget "that which never happened." She is afraid of her husband’s revenge. Kurt assures her that the Captain is a harmless pentuch, invariably showing him his location. Kurt has nothing to fear - after all, he copes well with his duties as the head of the quarantine and otherwise behaves as expected. But Alice says that in vain he believes in justice. Kurt has a secret - he is going to run for the Riksdag. Alice suspects that the Captain found out about this and wants to run for office.

Alice is talking with Allan. She tells the young man that he is vainly jealous of the Lieutenant: Judith is not at all in love with him. She wants to marry an old colonel. Alice asks her daughter not to torment the young man, but Judith does not understand why Allan suffers: after all, she does not suffer. The captain returns from the city. He has two orders on his chest: one he received when he retired, the second - when he used the knowledge of Kurt and wrote articles about quarantine posts in Portuguese ports. The captain announces that the soda factory has gone bankrupt. He himself managed to sell his shares on time, and for Kurt this means complete ruin: he loses both his house and furniture. He now can’t afford to leave Allan in artillery, and the Captain advises him to transfer his son to Norland, to the infantry, and promises his help. The captain hands Alice a letter that she sent to the post office: he checks all her correspondence and thwarts all her attempts to "break family ties." Having learned that Allan is leaving, Judith is upset, she suddenly realizes what suffering is, and realizes that she loves Allan. Captain appointed quarantine inspector. Since the money for Allan’s departure was collected from subscription lists, Kurt’s failure in the elections to the Riksdag is inevitable. Kurt's house goes to the Captain. Thus, the Captain took everything from Kurt. “But this cannibal left my soul untouched,” says Kurt Alice. The captain receives a telegram from the colonel, whom Judith wanted to marry. The girl called the colonel and uttered insolence, so the colonel breaks relations with the Captain. The captain thinks that the case was not without Alice’s intervention, and exposes the saber, but falls, overtaken by an apoplexy strike. He plaintively asks Alice not to be angry with him, and Kurt - to take care of his children. Alice rejoices that the Captain is dying. Judith thinks only of Allan and does not pay attention to the dying father. Kurt pities him. At the time of death, only the Lieutenant is next to the Captain. He says that before his death, the Captain said: "Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Alice and Kurt argue that, in spite of everything, the captain was a good and noble man. Alice understands that she not only hated, but also loved this man.