Hermann, a young soldier without a fortune and a compulsive gambler, falls in love with Lisa, the grand-daughter of an influential noblewoman from Moscow, the old Countess. Rumour has it that when the Countess was young and beautiful, she met a famous alchemist, the Count of Saint-Germain, in Paris, learnt from him the "secret of the three cards" in exchange for a night of love, and used it to win back her great fortune. She later disclosed it to her husband and a young lover, but was warned in a dream that when a third man tried to wrest it from her she would die. Hermann is mesmerized by the tale. He succeeds in conquering Lisa, thus gaining access to the Countess's chambers, and threatens the Countess to make her give up the secret with the result that she dies of fright. But her ghost reveals the three magical cards that will enable him to win: the three, the seven and the ace. Lisa is so horrified at her lover's actions that she commits suicide, while Hermann rushes off to gamble on the secret combination. He wins with his first two cards and, intoxicated by his luck, proclaims his nihilistic outlook: life, he says, is a mere game and only death is real. Then he plays against Prince Yeletski, Lisa's former fiancé. Instead of an ace, Hermann's third card turns out to be the queen of spades, the counterfigure of the Countess, and he is ruined. Her ghost returns to mock him and he takes his own life in despair. [Synopsis from someplace on the web.]
