A young and rich widow hires an unemployed man, Pietro, to make him live with her and to let everybody believe he is her lover. The man accepts the situation to earn a living, but in the end he falls in love with the widow and she falls in love with him too. Pietro, to gain his dignity back, moves away to look for a more decent job. He unexpectedly inherits a fortune from America that makes him suddenly a wealthy man. He goes back to the widow just in time to prevent her from marrying the wrong man.