A remake of the director's 1934 film, 'Il capello a tre punte”, it is based on the Spanish novel El sombrero de tres picos that came out in 1874.

A good-looking and sociable couple, they host lunches at their mill for local dignitaries, including the Spanish governor Don Teofilo.

His inept administration of the province leads to an outbreak of popular anger at the annual celebration of the town's patron saint and among the many arrested and detained is Luca.

Donna Dolores, the governor's neglected wife, realises that he has gone too far in his handling of the inhabitants and begs him to release them all, which he does apart from Luca.

Meanwhile, Luca has escaped and, creeping into the darkened mill, sees not only Don Teofilo's clothes, but also the governor in the marital bed.