Naive, orphaned maiden Angela leaves her small town for 19th- century London, where she quickly learns the ways of the world. She begins work at a brothel, where she gets a quick education in life. On her first "job," she is rescued by Rocco, a traveling thief who happens to be going from room to room, robbing the patrons. Rocco and Angela fall in love, but Rocco must flee the inn at which they have taken residence, when the police arrive at the door...

In 1957 Trieste, a few months before the general ban on brothels, inexperienced country girl Mimma becomes Paprika to finance her useless boyfriend as a prostitute. Amid the hustle and bustle of Rome, Paprika drifts from one brothel to another as she learns the ropes and works her way up one client at a time. However, as Paprika embarks on a stormy journey of self-discovery and sexual liberation, the sense that something is missing haunts her. Is Paprika meant to experience a passionate romance and solve the great mystery of true love?

Carlo is a responsible sibling who deals with his black-sheep sister Silvia in this situation comedy. When Silvia returns after many years to attend her mother's funeral, Carlo deals with the fallout caused by her many love affairs. Carlo is convinced to kidnap Silvia's child whom she left in a Hungarian children's home, but she soon abandons Carlo and the baby when she takes up with a British rock star.