Prologue 

The regent, Boris Godunov, is in retreat in the Novodevichy monastesy. The police and the boyar Shchelkalov urge him to take the throne, following the death of Ivan the Terrible's son Tsar Fyodor, and the other son, Dmitri, rumored to have been murdered by Boris himself. He refuses at first, but then assumes the title, although his soul is disquieted. 

Act I. Six Years Later

In his cell, an old monk, Pimen, is finishing his chronicle of Russian history. His novice Grigori, learns the rumor of the murdered Dmitri and conceives the idea of seeking power as a pretender. In Scene II, at an inn near the Lithuanian border, Gregori enters with two vagabond monks who have escaped from the monastery with him. Shortly, a policeman appears, searching for a runaway whose description matches that of Gregori. He rushes from the room able to escape. 

Act II. The Tsar's Apartments in the Kremlin 

Things are not going well in Russia and everyone blames the Tsar, who is also tortured with with guilt over the murder of Dimitri. Prince Shuisky, a rival boyar, brings the news about a pretender claiming to be Dimitri, who thinks he is the resurrected tsarevich. The guilt of Boris turns into hallucinations and madness. 

Act III. A Castle in Poland

Princess Marina, the daughter of a Polish noble has fallen in love with Dimitri the pretender. Her Jesuit confessor Rangoni hopes Russia can be converted to Catholicism and under Rome's dominion. He tells Marina to charm Dimitri. In a garden before the Polish castle of Mniszech, meeting with Dimitri, Marina urges him to attack Moscow. 

Act IV. An Emergency Meeting of the Boyars Council in Session

The Russian nobles are discussing the false Dimitri's revolt. Prince Shuisky relates how he saw Boris hallucinating about the dead Tsarevich. Boris enters, protesting his innocence, but upon hearing the story of a miraculous healing of a blind shepherd at the grave of the murdered Tsarevich, he collapses. As the bells toll, Boris falls dying, begging God for mercy. Shuisky and the other nobles place Boris's young son, Fyodor, on the throne.