The action takes place in the estate of Peter Nikolaevich Sorin. His sister, Irina Nikolaevna Arkadina, is an actress, visiting his estate with her son, Konstantin Gavrilovich Treplev, and Boris Alekseevich Trigorin, a fiction writer, quite famous, although he is not yet forty. They speak of him as a smart, simple, somewhat melancholy and very decent person. As for his literary work, then, according to Treplev, it is "sweet, talented <...> but <...> after Tolstoy or Zola you do not want to read Trigorin."
Konstantin Treplev himself is also trying to write. Considering the modern theater a prejudice, he is looking for new forms of theatrical action. Gathered on the estate are preparing to watch a play staged by the author among the natural scenery. Nina Mikhailovna Zarechnaya, a young girl, the daughter of wealthy landowners, with whom Konstantin is in love, should play the only role in it. Nina's parents are categorically against her passion for theater, and therefore she must come to the estate secretly.
Konstantin is sure that his mother is against the production of the play and, having not yet seen, ardently hates her, since the fiction writer whom she loves may like Nina Zarechnaya. He also thinks that his mother does not love him, because by his age - and he is twenty-five years old - he reminds her of his own years. In addition, Konstantin is haunted by the fact that his mother is a famous actress. He thinks that since he, like his father, the now deceased, Kiev tradesman, he is tolerated in the company of famous artists and writers only because of his mother. He also suffers from the fact that his mother lives openly with Trigorin and her name constantly appears on the pages of newspapers, that she is stingy, superstitious and jealous of someone else's success.
About all this, in anticipation of Zarechnaya, he tells his uncle. Sorin himself is very fond of theater and writers and admits to Treplev that he once wanted to become a writer, but failed. Instead, he served in the judiciary for twenty-eight years.
Among those awaiting the performance are also Ilya Afanasevich Shamraev, a retired lieutenant, manager at Sorin; his wife is Polina Andreevna and his daughter Masha; Evgeny Sergeevich Dorn, doctor; Semen Semenovich Medvedenko, teacher. Medvedenko is unrequitedly in love with Masha, but Masha does not reciprocate, not only because they are different people and do not understand each other. Masha loves Konstantin Treplev.
Finally Zarechnaya arrives. She only managed to escape from the house for half an hour, and so everyone hastily began to gather in the garden. There are no scenery on the stage: only the curtain, the first curtain and the second curtain. But there is a magnificent view of the lake. Over the horizon is a full moon and is reflected in the water. Nina Zarechnaya, all in white, sitting on a large stone, reads a text in the spirit of decadent literature, which Arkadina immediately notes. Throughout the reading, viewers constantly talk, despite Treplev’s comments. Soon it bothers him, and he, furious, stops presenting and leaves. Masha hurries after him to find him and calm him down. Meanwhile, Arkadina represents Nina Trigorina, and after a short conversation, Nina leaves home.
The play was not liked by anyone except Masha and Dorn. He wants to tell Trepleva more pleasant things, which he does. Masha confesses to Dorn that she loves Treplev and asks for advice, but Dorn can advise her nothing.
It takes a few days. The action is transferred to the croquet site. Nina Zarechnaya’s father and stepmother left for Tver for three days, and this gave her the opportunity to come to the estate of Sorin, Arkadina and Polina Andreevna going to the city, but Shamraev refuses to provide them with horses, explaining that all the horses in the field are harvesting rye. There is a small quarrel, Arkadina almost left for Moscow. On the way to the house, Polina Andreevna almost recognized Dorn in love. Their meeting with Nina at the house makes it clear to her that Dorn loves not her, but Zarechnaya.
Nina walks around the garden and is surprised that the life of famous actors and writers is exactly the same as the life of ordinary people, with her everyday quarrels, skirmishes, tears and joys, with her troubles. Treplev brings her a dead seagull and compares this bird with himself. Nina tells him that she almost ceased to understand him, as he began to express his thoughts and feelings with symbols. Konstantin tries to explain himself, but when he sees Trigorin appearing, he quickly leaves.
Nina and Trigorin remain together. Trigorin constantly writes something in a notebook. Nina admires the world in which, according to her, Trigorin and Arkadina live, admires enthusiastically and believes that their life is filled with happiness and miracles. Trigorin, on the contrary, portrays his life as a painful existence. Seeing the seagull killed by Treplev, Trigorin writes in a booklet a new plot for a short story about a young girl who looks like a seagull. "A man came by chance, saw, and had nothing to do, ruined her."
A week goes by. In the dining room of Sorin’s house, Masha confesses to Trigorin that he loves Treplev and, in order to wrest this love from her heart, marries Medvedenko, although she does not love him. Trigorin is going to leave for Moscow with Arkadina. Irina Nikolaevna leaves because of her son, who was shooting, and now is going to challenge Trigorin to a duel. Nina Zarechnaya is also going to leave, as she dreams of becoming an actress. She comes to say goodbye (primarily with Trigorin). Nina gives him a medallion, where the lines from his book are indicated. Opening the book in the right place, he reads: "If you ever need my life, then come and take it." Trigorin wants to follow Nina, because it seems to him that this is the very feeling that he had been looking for all his life. Upon learning of this, Irina Arkadina begs on her knees not to leave her. However, agreeing in words, Trigorin agrees with Nina on a secret meeting on the way to Moscow.
It takes two years. Sorin is already sixty-two years old, he is very sick, but also full of thirst for life. Medvedenko and Masha are married, they have a child, but there is no happiness in their marriage. Both the husband and the child are disgusting to Masha, and Medvedenko himself suffers greatly from this.
Treplev tells Dorn, who is interested in Nina Zarechnaya, her fate. She ran away from home and met Trigorin. They had a baby, but soon died. Trigorin had already stopped loving her and again returned to Arkadina. On the stage with Nina, everything turned out to seem even worse. She played a lot, but very "rude, tasteless, with howls." She wrote letters to Treplev, but never complained. In letters signed by Seagull. Her parents do not want to know her and are not allowed to come home even close. She is now in the city. And she promised to come. Treplev sure that will not come.
However, he is mistaken. Nina appears completely unexpectedly. Konstantin once again confesses to her in love and fidelity. He is ready to forgive her everything and devote her whole life to her. Nina does not accept his sacrifice. She still loves Trigorin, in which Trepleva admits. She leaves for the province to play in the theater and invites Treplev to look at her game when she becomes a great actress.
Treplev, after her departure, tears all his manuscripts and throws them under the table, then leaves for the next room. Arkadina, Trigorin, Dorn and others are gathering in the room that he left. Going to play and sing. A shot is heard. Dorn, saying it obviously burst his test tube, leaves for the noise. Having returned, he takes Trigorin aside and asks him to take Irina Nikolaevna somewhere, because her son, Konstantin Gavrilovich, shot himself.
