Sofia, a budding young theater actress, unwittingly discovers that Bruno, her beloved acting teacher, is gay. Heartbroken and determined to flee as far away from him as possible, she meets a young girl on the train who gives birth and abandons the baby. Sofia makes a life-changing decision: she takes the child and passes him off as her own son, naming him Bruno.
Cecilia is a commoner who runs an inn, where the specialty is the "spaghetti alla carbonara". Moreover, the woman is tied to the movement of young patriots, named "Carbonari", who want a united Italy, and are struggling against the power of the pope. Cecilia believes she lost her husband in a fatal accident, and has made a new lover: Fabrizio, who is also a patriot. One day the guy's saved by a monk, when he is about to be imprisoned by the soldiers of Cardinal Rivarola. The monk is the husband of Cecilia, not dead in the accident, and now he helps her to fight against the power of Rome with the Carbonari.
