Envy is the story Nikolay Kavalerov and the brothers Ivan and Andrey Babichev. When Nikolay is in a drunken stupor, Andrey picks him up and gives him a bed, food and work, only to late displace him with the young Volodya Makarov. Nikolay finds himself filled with envy and hate for Andrey and ultimately takes up with Ivan, who equally suffers being ignored and scorned by his brother, Andrey. Together the two cook up schemes of revenge as they come to recognize that their system of equality is based on those who have and those who have not.