The Older Doctor decides that he is going to write an opera as a cathartic experience. Meanwhile back at the hospital Pelageya is stricken with typhus but the Young Doctor neglects her to pursue Natasha in vain. A badly wounded soldier is admitted and Natasha is anxious to know if he has any news of her lover Gregory but the Young Doctor lies to her, claiming that Gregory is dead. He is hopeful that now she may feel something towards him but it is a vain hope. Pelageya dies and the Older Doctor feels ashamed of his younger self for using her so badly.
—don @ minifie-1