In 1874 Russian Empire, Prince Stephan "Stiva" Oblonsky's wife, Princess Darya "Dolly," banishes her husband from their home due to his infidelity. Stiva's sister, Anna Karenina, a well-off and well-liked socialite living in Saint Petersburg with her older husband, Count Alexei Karenin, and their son, Sergei "Seryozha" Alexeyich Karenin, travels to Moscow to persuade Dolly to forgive Stiva.