Lake Maggiore, September 1946. Young Marco Maffei, an avid skipper, has a chance encounter with the stylish philanderer and eccentric gentleman, Temistocle Mario Orimbelli, who lives in a splendid villa. As one thing leads to another, Temistocle invites Marco over for dinner, where he meets his wealthy wife, Cleofe, and his morosely beautiful sister-in-law, widowed Matilde, with whom he falls madly in love. Now, against the backdrop of sinful desires, well-hidden secrets, forbidden passions, and the sudden death of a beloved one, the unexpected arrival of Cleofe's missing-in-action brother, Angelo Berlusconi, turns the tide. What secrets hold the mysterious wooden trunk in the bishop's bedroom?