[1][3] The death threats against the local pharmacist Arturo Manno do not surprise any of his friends because he is a known womanizer in his small town.

They do not take his reports seriously until Manno, together with his friend Antonio Roscio, is killed while hunting one early morning.

Laurana asks his lawyer friend Rosello to take care of the prisoners, and begins his own research, also motivated by his secret love for Luisa Roscio, the widow of Manno's murdered companion.

Luisa, who rejects Laurana's advances but seemingly supports his research, tells him that she suspects her cousin Rosello to be involved in the case.

Laurana, who realises that his own life is in danger now, pretends that he has left a diary with the details of his research in Palermo.