After Olenka Plemyannikova's father dies, she marries Ivan Kukin – the owner of the local theater. She soon takes over some of his paperwork-related roles and becomes more involved in the business. Unfortunately, Kukin dies in Moscow during one of his work-related travels. Olenka's grief does not last too long and she soon gets married to a timber yard worker named Vasily Pustovalov. They live a happily and comfortable life together, until one day Pustovalov gets sick and dies a few days later. What is the reason behind the death of Olenka's spouses? Does it have anything to do with her or it is nothing more than bad luck? Will she get married once again after Vasily's death? Or will she give up and live alone for the rest of her life? You can find all the answers in Chekhov's short story "The Darling".