The rights of women lie in the hands of father, husband, culture, and court. We follow Eduardo into manhood where, for the church, he pursues a woman fleeing her husband. In the process, he commits a mortal sin. He subsequently finds himself in the office of Commasario Gaspari of the Florence police. His answer to the inspector's one question will set the course of his life. It's the century Italians struggled through to become one nation after escaping France's Napoleon III. Other nations and the Vatican interfere with the desire of the people to become one nation of the peninsula. Their passion is to be called "Italian."