Two middle-aged couples live in two-handed village huts: the Zvyagintsev's and the Arefyev's. Once the wives, tired of family life, decided to exchange husbands. Between old neighbors and good friends, a cheerful quadrille begins with a constant change of partners. Without wanting it, a lonely woman Makeyevna takes part in it for the last time, slowly dragging bricks from the Zvyagintsev's yard.