Obsessed with the desire to gain fortune, Germann, a poor young officer in St. Petersburg, learns of an aged countess who as a young woman learned the secret of three winning cards from a lover and gained the epithet "The Queen of Spades." Were she to reveal the secret to another lover she would die. By approaching her granddaughter, Liza, with whom he falls in love, Germann one night gains entrance to the countess' bedchamber. He confronts her with a pistol and demands that she reveal her secret, but the shock proves too great for the old woman and she dies of fright. Later, Germann arranges to meet Liza on the canal bank near the Winter Palace. A funeral procession passes, and the countess' ghost appears to Germann, advising him to wager on three cards: the three, the seven, and the ace. Liza, fearful of the consequences, tries to dissuade Germann from going to the gambling rooms, and, when he persists, she drowns herself in the canal. At the gaming tables, Germann is challenged by Prince Yeletskiy, formerly Liza's suitor. Following the instructions of the ghost, Germann wins on the first two cards but loses everything on the third card when the Queen of Spades appears in place of the ace. Germann shoots himself, crawls to the banks of the canal where Liza's scarf blows in the night air, and dies.