Leo Tolstoy, who in hisfiftiesgave up much of his wealth and devoted himself to a life of pacificism and asceticism, had as one of his disciples a certain wealthyaristocrat named Chertkov.
The story's climax turns out to be anticlimactic, a predictable contrivance that pits the countess, for the last time, against Chertkov, who wants to manage Tolstoy's death as he managed his life.
"The Last Station" was adapted from the novel by Jay Parini, and its structure is fairly intricate parallel love stories (Tolstoy and Sofya, Valentin and Masha), plus interlocking triangles (Sofya and Chertkov contending for Tolstoy's soul, Sofya and Chertkov pumping Valentin for information about one another's grip on Tolstoy's property).