In an unnamed country, Joe Cardos, a double murderer awaiting hanging in an isolation cell the next morning, is allowed by law to have one last request before his execution.

He tells the warden that despite his earlier wishes to be left alone, he now wants to spend his final night having fun in the company of a woman and, to provide the music for his party, two musicians.

Despite his misgivings, the humane warden is sympathetic to the inmate, who is an angry disturbed man who has refused any contact with his stepsister or the prison padre.

After a fruitless search for volunteers at the local brothel, the police find Dora Garben, a destitute and depressed woman who has attempted suicide at the beginning of the film.

Dora and the stepsister go into the prison chapel and, as the death bells toll, they pray for Joe's dream miracle to come true.