In St Petersburg, 1849, Fyodor Mikhailovitch Dostoevsky is arrested along with 34 other members of the Petrashevsky Circle and subjected to a mock execution before being informed that his sentence was commuted by the Tsar to four years in Siberia.

With Wrangel's help, Dostoevsky becomes an officer and hopes to marry Maria Dmitrievna, a widow. She finally accepts his proposal, but has more on her mind than only love.

Alexandra Ivanovna travels to Moscow in search of her own path. Out of loyalty to his wife and his friend Janovsky, Dostoevsky gives up pursuing her. He soon meets Apollinaria Suslova, who becomes his mistress.

Having finally arrived in Paris, Dostoevsky discovers that his beloved Apollinaria has fallen in love with someone else, but the affair does not work out in her favour and she begs Dostoevsky to take her away from Paris again.

In the aftermath of the deaths of his mistress, wife and brother, Dostoevsky is desolate and financially desperate. His publisher offers him a deal: if he writes his novel in a month, his debts will be forgotten.

Thanks to talented stenographer Anna Snitkina, Dostoevsky meets the harsh deadline for submitting his manuscript, but his publisher tries to set him a trap.