Stefano falls madly in love with Milena and leaves the seminary and his religious vocation, mesmerized by the beauty and the charm of the girl. But, as often happens in life, reality does not follow the schemes designed by humans: fate, perfidy, and destiny hinder the path established by the two lovers. The people of the town, who had seen the vocation of the young man as a collective good, receive the news of Stefano abandoning the seminary with disappointment and dismay. To escape the hostility, Stefano leaves for America with a promise to come back in a year, when he and Milena would get married and then both would go back to America together. However, once in New York Stefano faces loneliness, hard work, and the criminal underworld.