Convent-reared Sicilian Laura Antonelli is wed to equally Sicilian Alberto Lionello. Before they can consummate the marriage, they discover they are actually sister and brother. Appalled, but unwilling to admit the shame, they agree to live together, but never touch each other. However, Miss Antonelli, despite her prudish upbringing, feels the constant call of the flesh.

Luigi Comencini's sex comedy is set in 1908 through 1920, so there are references to Gabriele D'Annunzio's erotic work. Yet in the words of the character played by Michele Placido, the chauffeur who seduces Miss Antonelli, everyone is confused by words; the deed is simple and natural. In the midst of all the sniggering and high-flown talk set around the lack of anything to talk about, there are a couple of good comic sequences, and Lionello is quite funny, but mostly it's all about the stupidity.