Adriana (Stefania Sandrelli) is a young woman from the country who gets caught up in the tempestuous temptations of the big city in this somber moral drama. She has a series of affairs that are just for fun, but she becomes depressed when she desperately looks for a more meaningful relationship. The only men she finds sympathy with are a battered boxer (Mario Adorf) and a publicity agent (Nino Manfredi). Ugo Tognazzi has a brief part as a washed-up actor. Adriana's dreams are crushed to the point that she considers suicide her only alternative.