[1][2] In the 16th century, in Abruzzo, the noblewoman Porzia Colonna is promised as a bride to a nobleman of the Orsini family of Conversano, near Bari.

During the journey, a band of brigands attacks her party, and most of those travelling with her are killed.

The only survivors are Porzia and a rough fellow named Bartolo, who decide to continue the journey to Apulia on foot, although they are so different that they are distrustful of each other.

Despite their differences, or perhaps by the attraction of opposites, they fall in love, but Bartolo sees their backgrounds as an insurmountable barrier.

Many years later, Bartolo, now an elderly schoolteacher, receives a letter from Porzia, who has quietly followed the events of his life.