A hooker, mother of two, leaves her abusing husband for a young boxer. On the street she gets assaulted and beaten by pimps.

The daughter of a foreign diplomat in Paris is courted by two men. One of them entrusts her with a harmless commission for Poland, as she has a diplomatic passport. But it's a trap, and the girl is forced to work for Eastern spies.

Two mismatched buddies are mistaken for mob enforcers in Depression-era America.

Rossellini takes numerous liberties with the original source material, rearranging and omitting events at will, presenting everything in a highly undramatic fashion. The film begins in the time of the Old Testament, allowing Rossellini to present the story of Jesus in its ancient, historic context.