“Once they played cards with the horse guard Narumov.” After the game, Tomsky told the amazing story of his grandmother, who knows the secret of three cards, supposedly revealed to her by the famous Saint-Germain, who will certainly win if you bet on them in a row. Having discussed this story, the players went home. This story seemed implausible to everyone, including Hermann, a young officer who never played, but, without stopping, watched the game until morning.

Tomsky’s grandmother, an old countess, sits in her restroom, surrounded by handmaidens. Here is the hoop and her pupil. Tomsky enters, he starts a small talk with the countess, but quickly leaves. Lizaveta Ivanovna, the Countess’s pupil, left alone, looks out the window and sees a young officer whose appearance makes her blush. The Countess distracts her from this occupation, giving the most contradictory orders and at the same time demanding their immediate execution. Lizanka’s life in the house of a wayward and selfish old woman is unbearable. She is to blame for everything that annoys the countess. Endless nitpicking and whims annoyed the proud girl who was impatiently waiting for her deliverer. That is why the appearance of a young officer, whom she had seen for several days in a row standing on the street and looking at her window, made her blush. This young man was none other than Hermann. He was a man with strong passions and fiery imagination, whom only the strength of character saved from the delusions of youth. Tomsky's anecdote inflamed his imagination, and he wanted to know the secret of the three cards. This desire became an obsession, involuntarily leading him to the house of the old countess, in one of the windows of which he noticed Lizaveta Ivanovna. This minute became fatal.

Hermann begins to show signs of attention to Lisa in order to enter the Countess's house. He secretly gives her a declaration of love. Lisa answers. Hermann in a new letter requires a date. He writes to Lizaveta Ivanovna every day and finally gets his way: Lisa makes an appointment with him in the house at a time when her mistress will be at the ball, and explains how to get into the house unnoticed. Just waiting for the appointed time, Hermann enters the house and makes his way to the countess’s office. After waiting for the Countess to return, Hermann passes to her bedroom. He begins to beg the countess to reveal to him the secret of the three cards; Seeing the old woman’s resistance, he begins to demand, moves on to threats, and finally takes out a gun. Seeing the gun, the old woman falls in fear from the chair and dies.

Lizaveta Ivanovna, who had returned with the countess from the ball, was afraid to meet Hermann in her room and even felt some relief when no one was in her. She thinks about how Hermann suddenly enters and reports the death of the old woman. Lisa learns that it is not her love that Hermann's goal is and that she became the unwitting culprit of the death of the countess. Repentance torments her. At dawn, Hermann leaves the Countess's house.

Three days later, Hermann is present at the countess's funeral service. When saying goodbye to the deceased, it seemed to him that the old woman looked at him mockingly. In frustrated feelings, he spends the day, drinks a lot of wine and falls asleep firmly at home. Waking up late at night, he hears someone entering him and recognizes the old countess. She reveals to him the secret of three cards, three, seven and ace, and demands that he marry Lizaveta Ivanovna, and then disappears.

Three, seven and ace pursued Hermann's imagination. Unable to resist the temptation, he goes to the company of the famous player Chekalinsky and puts a huge sum on the top three. His card wins. The next day he put on the seven, and again winning it. The following evening, Hermann again stands at the table. He put the card, but instead of the expected ace in his hand was the Queen of Spades. It seems to him that the lady squinted and grinned ... The image on the map amazes him with its resemblance to the old countess.

Hermann went crazy. Lizaveta Ivanovna got married.