The story of Emma, a courageous woman who left home at a very young age. Emma's first job is working in a paddy field. There she meets Paride, and a romance begins. But amid a workers strike, Paride dies, leaving Emma alone and also pregnant. From this point on Emma struggles for survival.

Episodes centering on different aspects of early-1970s Italian life, set in a television studio, a factory, a university, and a Catholic parish.