Sandro is a well-known journalist and he is conducting a survey on human selfishness. Every man and every woman he meets turns into a theme for his inquiry. Even his own wife, Titta.

A story, set in Rome of 44 A.D., concerning the amorous and political intrigues of the evil Empress Messalina, the wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius, and her eventual hounding to death.

Claudio and Anna Tancredi, opera singers, are husband and wife. Their married life, however, is often disturbed by small misunderstandings and Anna's burning jealousy.