Salvatore Di Donato is one of the most feared and respected members of the Mafia in Naples. His wife, Assuntina, is a young theater actress. During a pilgrimage to Madonna of the Arch, Salvatore and Assuntina meet Margaret, a woman proud and beautiful. Salvatore falls in love with her, leaves Assuntina and goes to live with his new love. Margaret, however, is a strong woman, free, resistant to bring controlled by Salvatore, and ultimately he is forced to return home, ridiculed in the eyes of all.

Francesco Improta is an honest fruit and vegetable peddler who lives with his elderly mother Assunta and daughter Fiorella. His wife Lucia left home two years earlier, as, in order to help the family, she did not hesitate to give herself to the boss Peppino Ascalone, with whom she is now forced to live together.

Due to their dire economic circumstances, Salvatore and Concetta cannot get married, nor can they afford to have her mother's blindness operated on. To remedy the situation, the woman decides to leave with her brother Nino for the United States to ask a wealthy aunt for help. Before leaving, Concetta swears eternal fidelity to Salvatore. But after a while, the man has no news from her. He then leaves for the United States, where he discovers that Concetta has broken their pact by marrying a mafia boss.

Salvatore manages a gas station and a cafeteria in the outskirts of Naples, but bad luck has stolen his beloved wife, left alone, the pain has crushed all the projects and removed any desire to live. Then one night, Angela, eager for a different and simple life, enters his life.