In Sicily, in a time not yet forgotten, in the heart of a small secluded town populated by cicadas, ticks and venomous snakes, that which made a man a real man was not riches or power, but his honor. He had to defend his dignity against insults and village gossip. It took little to stoke the fire once lit, and no one was immune. One of the worst humiliations a man can suffer was to have an adulterous wife. A man so disgraced would bear the mark of shame, with all eyes of the community upon him. It was said that "his horns were sticking out" for all to see.

When a man disappears and leaves a daughter and mother in heavy debt they have to live on a houseboat to make ends meet.

The Prosecutor Andrea Martinez is transferred to a town in the province of Turin for the love of Marina Ardenzi.