The wretched peasant Polikushka, who drinks too much, is a liar, and finds it hard to keep his "pickers and feelers" off the loose property of anyone, joyfully dreams of justifying his mistress’ faith in him by safely fulfilling her commission to bring the package of money from town. His terrible despair over the collapse of his hopes because of the accidental loss of the money on the way home is compounded by the realization that no one will ever believe him if he tells the truth. To kill himself seems the only way out of his impossible dilemma.