After Beth Makintayr, the prima ballerina of ballet troupe the Lincoln center, because of the age, pension from the point of view of the ballet, was compelled to leave from a scene, her young colleagues understand that they had a chance to prove. One of them – Nina Sayers who all life worked on herself and perfected dancing skills to dance the main party in "The swan lake".
Her mother too once was a ballerina, but couldn't continue career because of Nina's birth therefore she laid all the hopes on the daughter. The main party in "The swan lake" is difficult, and not each ballerina can dance it: after all besides a white swan it is coming to present on a scene and black, and these are two different roles. And Nina who perfectly is given an innocent and charming white swan, as a black swan seems to the ballet master absolutely unconvincing. To comprehend a role completely, Nina has to open in herself a dark side of nature and face the demons.