 During a rainy night a woman puts a little bundle before a convent. It s a baby girl to whom the nuns give the the name Maria. When Maria grows up she marries Salvatore. Soon a new character is introduced in the story, Salvatore s sister, a no gooder, lover of a loan shark who has got her pregnant. Maria tries to convince him to marry her but she only gains Salvatore s distrust who believes her to be the old man s lover. The two now live apart and Maria is pregnant with Salvatore s child. When she delivers the baby she brings him to the convent like her mother did with her and while she prays the Madonna to forgive her her imaginary sin she s joined by her husband who has finally understood she has always loved him.