The short story Ward No. starts off by describing a mental asylum in a provincial hospital, Ward No. 6. The ward has five patients supervised by a porter named Nikita who beats the patients regularly. It then narrates how one of the patients, Gromov drove himself to paranoia and was admitted to the institution. The hospital is managed by Ragin, who wants to be a priest but became a doctor to humor his father. He was at first, a motivated doctor but was then neglectful of his tasks after realizing the uselessness of his work.

Ragin becomes preoccupied with what death and life is and turns to Gromov for companionship, both exchanging their views on justice. The staff becomes concerned about his mental state and tricked him to go to a meeting but actually is to confront him with his mental status. Upon his return, he found out that he was overthrown from his position and later developed depression. He was then tricked into being admitted to the ward and was severely beaten by Nikita causing his death due to apoplectic shock. The story ends with his funeral attended by only his cook and Mikhail.