The main role in the novel is played by the surveyor K., who is called to the village by the castle to carry out official measurements. As soon as he arrives, he encounters the peculiarities of the local environment, especially the inhabitants themselves, who are afraid of him, avoid him and fear him. Due to official irregularities, the mayor of the village does not want to give him surveying work and assigns two annoying assistants to him. After an affair with the local high-ranking waitress Frída from the Manor Inn, who is the alleged lover of the respected and feared castle official Klamm, K. falls out of favor with the innkeeper, is fired from the Hospoda u mostu and is offered a job as a janitor. Here he finds refuge with his fiancée. However, their relationship does not last long. After visiting the castle messenger Barnabás, whose family is infamous in the village due to the scandal of sister Amália, after a debate with the younger of the sisters - Olga - he learns a lot about the hierarchy in the castle, the position of officials and the rules in the village...