Act 1
Scene 1 Summer Garden
Women enjoy fine whether, men discuss yesterday’s game. Herman appears with Tomsky, who remarks that his friend hardly seems like his old self: is anything bothering him? Herman admits he is in love with a girl above his status whose name he does not even know. When Prince Yeletsky, an officer, strolls into the park, Chekalinsky congratulates him on his recent engagement. Yeletsky declares his happiness while Herman, aside, curses him enviously. Yeletsky points out his fiancée, Liza, who has just appeared with her grandmother, the old Countess. Catching sight of Herman, the two women note they have seen him before, staring at them with frightening intensity. Herman realizes that Liza is his unknown beloved. When Yeletsky and the women leave, the officers discuss the Countess, known as the Queen of Spades because she knows the winning formula. Tomsky says only two men, her husband and, later on, her young lover, ever learned her secret, because she was warned to beware a "third suitor" who would try to force it from her. Musing on the winning sequence of three cards, the others lightly suggest that such a combination would solve Herman's problems. Threatened by approaching thunder, all leave except Herman, who vows to learn the Countess' secret.
Scene 2 Liza’s appartement
At home, Liza plays the spinet as she and her friend Pauline sing a duet about evening in the countryside. Their girlfriends congratulate her on the engagement. As the merriment increases, Liza remains pensively apart. A Governess chides the girls for indulging in unbecoming folk dancing and asks the visitors to leave. Alone, Liza voices her unhappiness with her engagement; she has been stirred by the romantic look of the young man in the park. To her shock, Herman appears on the balcony. Claiming he is about to shoot himself over her betrothal to another, he begs her to take pity on him. When the Countess is heard knocking, Liza hides Herman and opens the door to the old woman, who tells her to shut the windows and go to bed. After the Countess retires, Liza asks Herman to leave but is betrayed by her feelings and falls into his embrace.
An interval
Act 2
Scene 3 The ball
Not long afterward, at a ball, Herman's comrades comment on his obsession with the secret of the winning cards. Yeletsky passes with Liza, noting her sadness and reassuring her of his love. Herman receives a note from Liza, asking him to meet her later. The master of ceremonies announces a tableau of shepherdesses. Liza slips Herman the key to her grandmother's room, saying the old woman will not be there the next day, but Herman insists on coming that very night. Thinking fate is handing him the Countess' secret, he leaves. The guests' attention turns to the imminent arrival of Catherine the Great.
Scene 2 The Countess’ bedroom
Herman slips into the Countess' bedroom, looks in fascination at her portrait and thinks that one of them will die because of the other. He hears the Countess' retinue coming, so he conceals himself as the old lady approaches. The Countess deplores the manners of the day and reminisces about the better times of her youth, when she sang "Je crains de lui parler la nuit". As she dozes off, Herman stands before her. She awakens in horror as he pleads with her to tell him her secret. When she remains speechless, he grows desperate and threatens her with a pistol — at which she dies of fright. Liza rushes in, only to learn that the lover to whom she gave her heart was more interested in the Countess' secret. She orders him out and falls sobbing. Herman is losing his mind.
An interval
Act 3
Scene 5 The barracks
In his room at the barracks Herman reads a letter from Liza, who wants him to meet her at midnight by the river bank. He imagines he hears the chorus chanting at the old Countess' funeral. The old woman's ghost appears, announcing that against her will she must tell him the secret. Dazed, Herman repeats the three cards — three, seven, ace.
Scene 6 By the canal
By the Winter Canal, Liza is waiting for Herman. At last he appears, but after uttering words of reassurance, he starts to babble wildly about the Countess and her secret. No longer even recognizing Liza, he rushes away. Realizing that all is lost, she commits suicide.
Scene 7 At a gambling house
Settling down to play, Herman's fellow officers are surprised when Herman arrives. He is ready to play faro for the first time. He bets the three and wins, upsetting the others with his maniacal expression. Next he bets the seven and wins again. Yeletsky accepts his challenge to bet on the next round. Herman bets everything he has on the ace but when he shows his card he is told he is holding the queen of spades. Seeing the Countess' ghost laughing at her vengeance, Herman takes his own life. At the moment of the last enlightenment, a clear image of Liza appears in front of him.
