Russian military officer Count Anikoff challenged his best friend Sergei to a duel and discovered that Sergei was courting a young woman he also fell in love with. Sergei cannot let himself kill his friend. He took out the bullet from the pistol before firing. Now, it's the Count's turn to fire... A story from Alexander Pushkin. The first part was directed by R. Castellani and co written by Alberto Moravia and Mario Soldati.