On an imaginary island off 19th-century Sicily, twenty-five year old Angela finds herself in love with Sara and she decides to ride out the scandal of her homosexuality by disguising herself as a man. When Angela refuses to go through with an arranged marriage, her father locks her down in a cave. She is eventually saved by a scheme her mother cooks up: she convinces the curate to change Angela's name and sex on her birth certificate. And that is how Angela turns into Angelo, sporting a cap and a cigar and giving the appearance of a picture perfect family.