The original iconic work of Fyodor Dostoevsky telling a thrilling story of mental anguish and moral dilemmas experienced by an inexperienced murderer. Raskolnikov, a former law student who lives in extreme poverty in a tiny, rented room in Saint Petersburg. Having failed in his attempts to support himself he has devised a plan to murder and rob an elderly pawn-broker, Alyona Ivanovna. After much deliberation, Raskolnikov sneaks into Alyona Ivanovna's apartment, where he murders her with an axe. He also kills her half-sister, Lizaveta, who happens to stumble upon the scene of the crime. Shaken by his actions, Raskolnikov manages to steal only a handful of items and a small purse, leaving much of the pawn-broker's wealth untouched. Raskolnikov then flees and, due to a series of coincidences, manages to leave unseen and undetected. After the bungled murder, Raskolnikov falls into a feverish state and begins to worry obsessively over the murder.