As part of a story, a reporter goes to meet Elisa, a young woman he met a few years ago on a trial on which she was finally exonerated.

Donatella is a simple and honest roman girl, daughter of a bookbinder and girlfriend of Guido, a gas station owner. One day she finds a woman's handbag containing valuables and documents, and decides to return it to her owner, a wealthy American lady, who offers Donatella a job as a secretary as a reward: she has to manage the lady's villa during her absences. There, Donatella casually meets Maurizio, a rich, elegant and well-educated young man, and ends up falling in love.

A caravan guarded by Roman soldiers comes across a woman bound to a stake and left to die. A wealthy merchant who hired the caravan is against taking The Woman along, but the commander of the soldiers, Verrus, overrules him. Verrus tries to get friendly with her, promising all kinds of wealth for her favors. The caravan encounters a group of Jdean refugees fleeing from King Herod's orders to kill all male children. They are on their way to Egypt with a male child with them. The Merchant begins to ponder the reward that would be paid by the King and orders The Woman to seduce a Roman guard to enable the messenger to get away. When the King's soldiers show up, Verrus refuses to surrender the refugees. Then the sand hits the fan.

During WWII, Sandro Ademari (Massimo Girotti), head of a group of Italian partisans, to escape from a Nazi catch, hides himself by a farm. Here he knows Luisa (Lea Padovani) and soon the two married and have a baby. After the war, Sandro, now a solicitor, succeeded also to be elected in Rome's parliament. Here he starts an extramarital affair with Germana (Patricia Neal). Sandro, now deep involved with Germana, tries all the way to leave Luisa (divorce wasn't legal during the '50s in Italy). But Luisa is determined to save her marriage and arrives in Rome to discuss with the two. The tragedy is behind the corner.