Love during wartime blossoms between crusader Bradamante—a female knight wearing an invincible suit of armor—and Moorish prince Ruggero. A sorceress predicts to Bradamante that her beloved will die in battle at the hand of a fellow Christian paladin, Rolando, whom in turn is in love with Isabella, Ruggero's sister.

Mauro, a judge, is worried about his older sister Marta, who took care of him since he was a boy, and now suffers from mental illness and suicidal thoughts. She seems to recover from her depression when Mauro acquaints her with Giovanni, a brilliant actor at the edge of legality. However, Mauro becomes unconsciously jealous of their relationship.

Voting against the Mafia in what he thinks is a secret ballot costs Sicilian laborer Mimi his livelihood. He leaves his wife, flees to Turin and romances a Communist organizer - but he just can’t shake the Mafia. When they lure Mimi back to Sicily with a better job, he must keep his lover – and love child – under wraps. That’s when his wife announces she’s pregnant.