In Southern Italy in the 1950s, the Catholic church and right wing politicians discouraged independence in women. Liliana Rossi becomes a controversial figure for her passionate activism as a Communist and as a woman. She opens a school for those kids turned away from the local public schools, and teaches radical ideas such as gender equality and contraception. Gerardo is a somewhat confused young man who desires Liliana, but is also opposed to her politics. He has been thrown out of school, possibly for homosexual activity, and his relationship to the church is equally unclear. But her lets himself be led into a violent act against Liliana's school, an act he comes to regret later.