Madame Ranevsky and her daughter Anya return home from Paris to find that their beloved family estate and cherry orchard are to be auctioned off to pay debts. Lopahin, a former serf on the estate who is now a walthy landowner, proposes razing the home and cherrt orchard and dividing the estate into plats that could be leased at great profit. The family, however, continues to hold out hope that their beloved home can somehow be saved from destruction.