Moscow in the 1930s. A famous writer at the height of his career suddenly finds himself at the center of a literary scandal. A play based on his work is removed from the repertoire, his colleagues demonstratively avoid him, and in a matter of days he becomes an outcast. Shortly thereafter, he meets Margarita, who becomes his lover and muse. Inspired by her love and support, the writer embarks on a new novel, where the characters are people from his circle, and the main character is the mysterious Woland, modeled after a recent foreign acquaintance. The writer immerses himself in the world of his novel and gradually ceases to notice how fiction and reality intertwine.