The action takes place in the provincial town of Skotoprigonyevsk in the 1870s. In the monastery, in the monastery of the famous old man Zosima, a famous ascetic and healer, father Fedor Pavlovich and his sons, senior Dmitry and middle Ivan, gather to clarify their family property affairs. The same meeting is attended by the younger brother Alyosha, a novice with Zosima, as well as a number of other persons - a relative of Karamazov’s wealthy landowner and liberal Miusov, a seminarian Rakitin and several clergymen. The reason is the dispute between Dmitry and his father about hereditary relations. Dmitry believes that his father owes him a large sum, although he does not have obvious legal rights. Fyodor Pavlovich, a nobleman, a landowner of small, a former instigator, angry and touchy, is not going to give money to his son at all, but agrees to meet with Zosima rather out of curiosity. Dmitry’s relationship with his father, who never showed much concern for his son, is tense not only because of money, but also because of the woman Grushenka, whom both are passionately in love with. Dmitry knows that the lustful old man has money for her, that he is even ready to get married if she agrees.

Meeting in a monastery represents almost all the main characters at once. Passionate impetuous Dmitry is capable of rash acts, in which he himself deeply regrets. The clever, mysterious Ivan is tormented by the question of the existence of God and the immortality of the soul, as well as the key question for the novel - is everything allowed or not everything? If there is immortality, then not everything, but if not, then an intelligent person can settle in this world as he pleases - this is an alternative. Fedor Pavlovich - cynic, voluptuous, brawler, comedian, money-grubber, with all his appearance and actions causes around others, including his own sons, disgust and protest. Alyosha is a young righteous man, a pure soul, a fan of everyone, especially the brothers.

Nothing from this meeting, except for the scandal, which will be followed by many more, is happening. However, the wise and penetrating elder Zosima, acutely sensing someone else's pain, finds a word and gesture for each of the participants in the meeting. Before Dmitry, he kneels and bows to the ground, as if anticipating his future suffering, Ivan answers that the issue has not yet been resolved in his heart, but if he does not resolve it in the positive direction, he will not resolve it in the negative direction, and blesses him. He notices Fedor Pavlovich that all his buffoonery is that he is ashamed of himself. From a tired old man, most of the participants at the meeting at the invitation of the abbot pass into the refectory, but Fedor Pavlovich suddenly appears in the same place with speeches accusing the monks. After another scandal, everyone runs up.

After the departure of the guests, the elder blesses Alyosha Karamazov for great obedience in the world, punishing him to be with his brothers. Following the elder’s instructions, Alyosha goes to his father and meets brother Dmitri hiding in the garden next to his father’s estate, who is guarding his beloved Grushenka here, if she, seduced by money, still decides to come to Fedor Pavlovich. Here, in an old arbor, Dmitry enthusiastically confesses Alyosha. He, Dmitry, happened to plunge into the deepest shame of debauchery, but in this shame he begins to feel a connection with God, to feel the great joy of life. He, Dmitry, is a voluptuous insect, like all Karamazovs, and voluptuousness is a storm, big storms. The ideal of the Madonna lives in him, as does the ideal of Sodom. Beauty is a terrible thing, says Dmitry, here the devil fights with God, and the battlefield is the hearts of people.Dmitry Alyosha also talks about his relations with Katerina Ivanovna, a noble girl whose father he once saved from shame, lending him money that was missing for the report in the official sum. He suggested that the proud girl herself come to him for money, that she would appear humiliated, ready for anything, but Dmitry behaved like a noble man, gave her this money, without demanding anything in return. Now they are considered to be the bride and groom, but Dmitry is passionate about Grushenka and even spent three thousand with her at the inn in the village of Mokroy, given to him by Katerina Ivanovna to send her sister to Moscow. He considers this his main shame and as an honest person he must certainly return the entire amount. If Grushenka comes to the old man, then Dmitry, according to him, will burst in and hinder, and if ... then he will kill the old man, whom he hates fiercely. Dmitry asks his brother to go to Katerina Ivanovna and tell her that he is bowing, but will not come again.

In the house of Alyosha’s father, Fedor Pavlovich and his brother Ivan are caught by cognac, amused by the arguments of the lackey Smerdyakov, son of the wanderer Lizaveta and, according to some assumptions, Fedor Pavlovich. And soon Dmitry suddenly bursts in, who thought that Grushenka had come. In a rage, he beats his father, but making sure that he was mistaken, runs away. Alyosha is sent at his request to Katerina Ivanovna, where Grushenka unexpectedly catches up. Katerina Ivanovna affectionately courted her, showing that she was mistaken, considering her to be corrupt, and she answered her honeyfully. Ultimately, everything again ends with a scandal: Grushenka, about to kiss Katerina Ivanovna’s pen, suddenly defiantly refuses to do this, insulting her rival and provoking her rage.

The next day, Alyosha, after spending the night at the monastery, goes again on worldly affairs - first to his father, where he listens to another confession, now Fedor Pavlovich, who complains about his sons, and says about the money that he himself needs it, because he still needs it nevertheless, the man also wants to be on this line for another twenty years, that he wants to live to the end in his filth and Grushenka will not yield to Dmitry. He gossips about Alyosha and about Ivan, that he beats Dmitry’s bride because he is in love with Katerina Ivanovna.

Along the way, Alyosha sees schoolchildren throwing stones at a small lonely boy. When Alyosha approaches him, he first throws a stone at him, and then painfully bites his finger. This boy is the son of staff captain Snegirev, who was recently humiliatingly pulled out of a tavern by a beard and beaten up by Dmitry Karamazov for having some kind of bill business with Fedor Pavlovich and Grushenka.

In the house of Khokhlakova, Alyosha catches up with Ivan and Katerina Ivanovna and witnesses another tear: Katerina Ivanovna explains that she will be faithful to Dmitry, will be “a means for his happiness,” and asks the opinion of Alyosha, who innocently declares that she does not like Dmitry at all, but only assured myself of this. Ivan reports that he is leaving for a long time because he does not want to sit “under the strain”, and adds that she needs Dmitry to continually contemplate her feat of loyalty and reproach him for infidelity.

With two hundred rubles given to him by Katerina Ivanovna for the injured at the hands of Dmitry staff captain Snegirev, Alyosha goes to him. At first, the captain, the father of a large family living in extreme poverty and disease, is a fool, and then, feeling sorry, confesses to Alyosha. He accepts money from him and enthusiastically imagines what he can now implement.

Then Alyosha visits Mrs. Khokhlakova again and talks with her daughter Lisa, a painful and expansive girl who recently wrote to her about her love and decided that Alyosha should definitely marry her. After a short time, she confesses to Alyosha that she would like to be tormented - for example, to marry her and then leave her.She describes to him a terrible scene of torturing a crucified child, imagining that she did it herself, and then sat opposite and began to eat pineapple compote, “Little Puppy” - Ivan Karamazov will call her.

Alyosha goes to the tavern, where, as it became known to him, is brother Ivan. In the tavern, one of the key scenes of the novel takes place - a meeting of two “Russian boys”, who, if they meet, then immediately begin about world-wide questions of eternity. God and immortality is one of them. Ivan reveals his secret by answering the unasked, but extremely interesting, question for Alyosha, "what do you believe?"

In him, Ivan, there is a Karamaz thirst for life, he loves life contrary to logic, he loves sticky spring leaves. And he does not accept God, but the world of God, full of immense suffering. He refuses to agree with the harmony at the base of which is the tear of a child. He lays out to Alyosha "facts" testifying to the flagrant human cruelty and children's suffering. Ivan retells to Alyosha his poem “The Grand Inquisitor”, which takes place in the sixteenth century in the Spanish city of Seville. The ninety-year-old cardinal imprisons Christ for the second time who has descended to the earth and during a night meeting sets forth his view of mankind to him. He is convinced that Christ idealized him and that it is not worthy of freedom. The choice between good and evil is the torment for man. The Grand Inquisitor and his comrades-in-arms decide to rectify the work of Christ - to overcome freedom and build human happiness themselves, turning humanity into an obedient herd. They take the right to control human life. The Inquisitor is waiting for an answer from Christ, but he only silently kisses him.

Having parted with Alyosha, Ivan meets Smerdyakov on the way home, and a decisive conversation takes place between them. Smerdyakov advises Ivan to go to the village of Chermashnyu, where the old man sells a grove, he hints that anything can happen in his absence with Fedor Pavlovich. Ivan is angry at Smerdyakov’s arrogance, but at the same time is intrigued. He realizes that a lot now depends on his decision. He decides to go, although on the way he changes the route and goes not to Chermashnya, but to Moscow.

Meanwhile, the elder Zosima dies. Everyone is waiting for a miracle after the death of the righteous, and instead, very soon the smell of decay appears, which creates confusion in the souls. Confused and Alyosha. In this mood, he leaves the monastery, accompanied by the atheist seminarist Rakitin, an intriguer and envious who leads him to the house to Grushenka. They find the mistress in alarming expectation of some news. Pleased with the arrival of Alyosha, she first behaves like a coquette, sits on his lap, but, learning about the death of Zosima, changes dramatically. In response to Aleshin’s warm words and the fact that he, her sinful one, calls her sister, Grushenka thaws her heart and devotes it to her torment. She is waiting for news from her "ex", who once seduced her and abandoned her. For many years she cherished the idea of ​​revenge, and now she is ready to crawl like a little dog. And indeed, immediately after receiving the news, she rushes to the call of the “former” in Mokroy, where he stopped.

Alyosha, pacified, returns to the monastery, prays near the tomb of Zosima, listens to reading by the father Paisius of the Gospel about the marriage in Cana of Galilee, and he, who dozed off, seems to be elder, who praises him for Grushenka. Alyosha’s heart is more and more filled with delight. When he wakes up, he leaves the cell, sees the stars, the golden heads of the cathedral and is thrown into a joyful frenzy on the earth, hugs and kisses her, touching the other worlds with his soul. He wants to forgive everyone and ask everyone for forgiveness. Something solid and unshakable enters his heart, transforming it.

At this time, Dmitry Karamazov, tormented by jealousy of his father because of Grushenka, rushes about in search of money. He wants to take her away and begin with her somewhere a virtuous life. He also needs money in order to repay the debt to Katerina Ivanovna.He goes to the patron of Grushenka, the wealthy merchant Kuzma Samsonov, offering his dubious rights to Chermashnya for three thousand, and he mockingly sends him to the merchant Gorstkin (aka Lyagavy), who is selling a grove from Fedor Pavlovich. Dmitry rushes to Gorstkin, finds him sleeping, takes care of him all night, almost burned out, and in the morning, after awakening after a brief oblivion, he finds the man hopelessly drunk. In desperation, Dmitry goes to Khokhlakova to borrow money, the same one tries to inspire him with the idea of ​​gold mines.

Having lost time, Dmitry realizes that he might have lost Grushenka, and, not finding her at home, sneaks to his father’s house. He sees his father alone, waiting, but doubt does not leave him, so that he makes a secret conditional knock, which Smerdyakov taught him, and, making sure that Grushenka is gone, runs away. At that moment, the valet Fyodor Pavlovich Grigory, who appeared on the porch of his house, notices him. He rushes after him and overtakes when he climbs over the fence. Dmitry hits him with a pestle captured in Grushenka’s house. Gregory falls, Dmitry jumps to him to see if he is alive, and wipes his bloodied head with a handkerchief.

Then he again runs to Grushenka and there already seeks the truth from the maidservant. Dmitry, with a bundle of hundred-dollar credit cards suddenly in his hands, goes to official Perkhotin, who recently put down pistols for ten rubles to buy them again. Here he tidies himself up a little, although his whole appearance, blood on his hands and clothes, as well as mysterious words arouse suspicion in Perkhotin. In a nearby shop Dmitry orders champagne and other dishes, ordering them to be delivered to Wet. And he, without waiting, jumps there in the top three.

At the inn, he finds Grushenka, two Poles, a handsome young man Kalganov and landowner Maximov, entertaining everyone with his buffoonery. Grushenka meets Dmitry with fear, but then rejoices at his arrival. He shy and fawns in front of her and in front of everyone present. The conversation is not glued, then the party is plotted in cards. Dmitry begins to play, and then, seeing the tanned eyes of the panicks who have entered into excitement, he offers the “former” money so that he backs down from Grushenka. Suddenly, it turns out that the Poles replaced the deck and are cheating at the game. They are led out and locked in a room, a walk begins - a feast, songs, dances ... Grushenka, drunk, suddenly realizes that she only loves Dmitri and is now connected with him forever.

Soon a police officer, investigator, and prosecutor appear in Mokrom. Dmitry is accused of patricide. He is amazed - after all, on his conscience is only the blood of the servant of Gregory, and when he is informed that the servant is alive, he is very enthusiastic and readily answers questions. It turns out that not all of Katerina Ivanovna’s money was spent by him, but only a part, the rest was sewn into a bag that Dmitry wore on his chest. That was his "great secret." It was a shame for him, a romance in the soul, which showed some discretion and even prudence. It is this recognition that is given to him with the greatest difficulty. The investigator is not at all capable of understanding this, and other facts testify against Dmitry.

In a dream, Mitya sees a child crying in a fog in the arms of an emaciated woman, he is all trying to find out why it cries, why they do not feed him, why the naked steppe and why they don’t sing joyful songs.

A great, never-before-experienced emotion rises in him, and he wants to do something, he wants to live and live, and on the road go "to a new calling light."

It soon turns out that Fyodor Pavlovich was killed by the lackey Smerdyakov, who pretended to be a broken lapdog. Just at that moment when old Grigory was unconscious, he came out and, beckoning Fyodor Pavlovich Grushenka, forced him to unlock the door, hit the head with a paperweight several times, and took away from him a fateful three thousand.Now really sick Smerdyakov himself tells about everything Ivan Karamazov, the mastermind of the crime, who visited him. Indeed, it was his idea of ​​permissiveness that made an indelible impression on Smerdyakov. Ivan does not want to admit that the crime was committed with his secret consent and with his connivance, but the pangs of conscience are so strong that he goes crazy. He imagines a devil, a kind of Russian gentleman in checkered trousers and with a lorgnet, who mockingly expresses his own thoughts of Ivan, who tortures him whether God is or not. During the last meeting with Smerdyakov, Ivan says that he confesses everything at the upcoming trial, and that one, confused, at the sight of the hardness of Ivan, which meant so much to him, gives him money, and then hangs himself.

Katerina Ivanovna together with Ivan Fedorovich make plans for Dmitry to escape to America. However, the rivalry between her and Grushenka continues, Katerina Ivanovna is still not sure how she will appear in court - the liberator or the murderer of her former groom. Dmitry, on a date with Alyosha, expresses his desire and readiness to suffer and purify himself by suffering. The trial begins with a survey of witnesses. The evidence for and against does not initially add up to a clear picture, but rather, all the same, in favor of Dmitry. The speech of Ivan Fedorovich, which, after painful hesitation, informs the court that he had killed the hanged Smerdyakov, amazes everyone and puts out a wad of money received from him in confirmation. Smerdyakov killed, he says, and I taught. He raves about a fever, blaming everyone, they take him away by force, but immediately after that Katerina Ivanovna’s hysteria begins. She presents the court with a document of "mathematical" importance - a letter from Dmitry received on the eve of the crime, where he threatens to kill his father and take the money. This testimony is decisive. Katerina Ivanovna destroys Dmitry to save Ivan.

Further, the local prosecutor and the famous Moscow lawyer Fetyukovich speak vividly, eloquently and thoroughly. Both cleverly and subtly argue, paint a picture of Russian Karamazovism, penetratingly analyze the social and psychological causes of the crime, convincing that circumstances, atmosphere, environment and a low father who is worse than someone else’s offender could not help pushing him. Both conclude that Dmitry is a killer, albeit an involuntary one. The jury found Dmitry guilty. Dmitry is condemned.

After the trial, Dmitry develops a nervous fever. Katerina Ivanovna comes to him and admits that Dmitry will forever remain an ulcer in her heart. And that even though she loves another, and he is different, still she and him, Dmitry, will love forever. And he is punished by loving himself all his life. With Grushenka, they still remain reconciled enemies, although Katerina Ivanovna reluctantly asks for that pardon.

The novel ends with the funeral of Ilyushenka Snegirev, the son of captain Snegirev. Alyosha Karamazov calls on the boys who he made friends with at the grave, visiting Ilya during his illness, to be kind, honest, never forget each other and not be afraid of life, because life is beautiful when good and truthful is done.