When her husband dies in Sicily while on their honeymoon, Jessica, a nurse, decides to remain there rather than return home and becomes a midwife in the village of Forza d'Agrò.

Men of the town pay quite a bit of attention to the attractive Jessica, causing women to resent her presence.

While she at times welcomes their attentions, she has a strict rule to never get involved with any man who has any standing attachment to another woman.

At the end of the story, the wives of the town have accepted her, and renewed relations with their husbands, leading to a baby boom.

And when she comes to the church during mass, to announce the birth of twins, she sits next to Edmundo, on his ceremonial bench near the altar—indicating she is now Marchesa Raumo.