Cristiano, an affluent and middle-aged man, lives in a miserable shack between the moor and sea along the Sardinian coast. He is often visited by Ghiana, a farmwoman married to Alessandro who emigrated to Australia. She loves him discretely without pretence. Coming to live in the nearby cottage and breaking Cristiano?s wall of solitude, the youthful and charming Sara arrives with her mentally-ill husband in need of constant care. Slowly but surely an intense feeling grows between Cristiano and Sara; both desirous of emotions, they feel attracted to each other. Ghiana confesses to Cristiano that she is pregnant and plans to pretend the son belongs to her husband about to return, but Cristiano is unaffected. Ghiana knows all too well that Cristiano has by now distanced himself from her; his heart now belongs to Sara. But events are coming to a head: Giorgio becomes ill and dies after a dramatic night escape. Sara is overwhelmed: Cristiano is close to her in her hour of need, assuring her of his love and desire to marry. However, first he finds the strength to reveal his terrible secret: after a difficult relationship with his mother and an unhappy, arranged marriage with a woman ten years older than him, his wife shut him up for many years in an institution for supposedly attempting uxoricide. Cristiano hopes that Sara can understand and help him have faith in his possible recovery. The woman, however, having already suffered a great deal with her sick and older husband, is not ready to face a new relationship full of uncertainty. She instead flees in secret with Berta, her trusted governess. Cristiano falls into a deep state of solitude once again. However, after overcoming a period of great crisis, he decides to dedicate his remaining years to his son had by Ghiana.