The hero of the story is the writer Vladimír Tůma, who is invited to spend a month studying in a neighbouring country. There, the foreign office assigns him a guide, Irena Stepowska. The two young people are attracted to each other, but there is a catch - Vladimír is married, Irena is married....
In the nineteenth century, a young couple head to the countryside to spend the weekend together. On the train they encounter a mysterious Englishman heading for the same destination. Suspicious of this individual, they take the room next to his - the titular Blue Room - and a mystery ensues...