This bliss is short lived as she soon discovers that he is a violent, jealous, and possessive man that expects complete and abject obedience from her, causing her to rebel against the impending marriage after witnessing a mob killing.

His goal is to force her into a fuitina or "rehabilitating marriage", as customs dictate that a woman should marry the one who took her virginity, whether the encounter was willing or not.

The resulting scandal and attempts by her parents to stop her from pursuing justice makes life difficult for Francesca, however in the end she triumphs and Vito is thrown in jail.

[6] Damiani and the other writers chose to have the script differ in several ways from the real life kidnapping, rape, and prosecution.

Scholar Niamh Cullen notes that Francesca's behaviors bore more similarity to feminists of the 60s and 70s, whereas upon rescue the real life Franca had reportedly accepted the impending marriage as a grim and unwanted inevitability.