Augusto Valle is a successful young industrialist who weds Palmira, the girl working in his factory, and the two have a child despite the infant's uncertain legitimacy. Scheming to control her husband's fortune, Palmira has affairs with both the mayor and the judge to have Augusto committed to a mental institution. While there, he falls in love with Serafina Vitali, a young woman who was also put away.
During a wave of political violence in Italy, a policeman who's already survived an assassination is assigned to act as a bodyguard to a morally upright judge. He feels increasingly fearful as the links of the upper echelons of police and government to the violence become clear.
An independent porn actress, diagnosed with cancer, reconnects with her father and finds love with a fellow patient. Despite her illness, she continues her career, but her path takes a tragic turn.
