The Buryja family is a troubled one. The two half-brothers, Steva and Laca, are at odds: handsome but irresponsible Steva has inherited most of the family property (notably a valuable mill), along with a favored position in the family's affections. Laca is further depressed by the hopelessness of his love for Jenufa, stepdaughter of the Kostelnicka, the stern leader of the Moravian town in which they live. Jenufa loves Steva and is pregnant by him, a fact still hidden from everyone else. Sensing that marriage has little part in Steva's thoughts and fearing that her lover will be drafted, Jenufa is on the verge of panic.

ACT I

The Buryja mill. Jenufa fears the results of the latest draft of the village men: if Steva is called into the army, he will not be able to marry her before her pregnancy becomes obvious. Grandmother Buryja scolds her for absent-mindedness, and Laca teases her remorselessly. Jano, a young shepherd boy whom Jenufa has been teaching, runs in excited that he can finally read, and Jenufa promises to bring him a book. The mill Foreman reprimands Laca for treating Jenufa so heartlessly, provoking a fit of anger from Laca. Jenufa is ecstatic when the Foreman announces that Steva has not been drafted after all, but Laca is furious at this latest stroke of bad luck.

Steva arrives drunk with the other recruits and is in the mood for dancing, which is abruptly halted by Kostelnicka. She withdraws permission for Steva and Jenufa to marry until Steva proves he can remain sober for an entire year.

Left alone, Jenufa begs Steva to marry her as soon as possible. Grandmother Buryja interrupts them, and Steva runs off declaring that he will never abandon Jenufa.

When Laca approaches Jenufa an argument erupts. In frustration, he pulls out his knife; in the struggle her face is slashed. As Laca escapes, the Foreman calls after him, shouting that Laca cut Jenufa's face on purpose.

ACT II

Kostelnicka's house, five months later. Learning of Jenufa's pregnancy, Kostelnicka has hidden Jenufa in her home and has told the villagers that she has sent her stepdaughter to visit relatives in Vienna. Jenufa's baby is now a week old and Kostelnicka is ready to put her plan into effect: she will beg Steva to marry Jenufa . Frantic with worry for the family's reputation, she gives Jenufa a sleeping potion. When Steva arrives, he assures Kostelnicka that he cares for Jenufa but, now that her face is disfigured, he has no intention of marrying her; he has already become engaged to Karolka, the Mayor's daughter. She pleads at his feet, but he runs away, leaving Kostelnicka raging at him and the baby who has brought such shame to the family.

When Laca arrives, she tells him about the baby. Before he can respond to her, Kostelnicka blurts out a terrible lie: the baby is dead. Laca is sent away, but promises to return.

Left alone, Kostelnicka imagines what the villagers will say when they find out about her family's disgrace. 'I will take this child and give it back to God!' she cries. She wraps the baby in a shawl and runs out into the winter night.

Jenufa awakens dazed from the sleeping potion. Unable to find the baby, she has a terrifying vision of him falling into a dark, icy place. As she urgently prays, Kostelnicka returns, insisting that Jenufa has slept for two days, during which time her baby died. She tells her that Steva has rejected her and that Laca wants to marry her. Laca returns and begs Jenufa to accept him. She reluctantly agrees. Kostelnicka gives them her blessing and pronounces a violent curse on Steva, but is herself terrified as an icy wind blows through the house.

ACT III

The Buryja mill, two months later. On the day of Jenufa's wedding to Laca, the Buryja family tries to be cheerful. Jenufa, though, is sad, and Kostelnicka is nervous and withdrawn. When the family and guests go to admire Jenufa's trousseau, Laca assures Jenufa of his love and she thanks him for his kindness and understanding. Laca tells her that he has even forgiven Steva and invited him and Karolka to the wedding. Steva and Karolka enter, the latter chattering brightly while Steva tries to control his discomfort. A group of village girls sing a wedding song to Jenufa, and the betrothed couple kneels for Grandmother Buryja's blessing.

Suddenly there is a commotion outside. The shepherd Jano runs in with the news that some village men have found the frozen corpse of a baby. Terrified, Kostelnicka tries to stop Jenufa from going to see the body, but Jenufa runs away and returns almost immediately, screaming that the child was hers. The shocked villagers turn against her. 'Stone her to death!' they shout. Laca tries to protect her against the villagers, but it is Kostelnicka who saves her stepdaughter. Declaring that she is the one who destroyed Jenufa's baby, Kostelnicka describes how she murdered the child by thrusting it under the river ice. She kneels at Jenufa's feet and to everyone's surprise Jenufa goes to her and helps her up. She understands that Kostelnicka killed the child out of love for her stepdaughter. Jenufa begs the villagers to give Kostelnicka time to make her own peace with God. The Mayor leads Kostelnicka away.

When they are alone Jenufa tells Laca he should not marry a woman as disgraced as she. Laca, though, remains firm: 'Nothing matters if you are with me.'

- Yveta Synek Graff and Robert T. Jones