Trapped in an unhappy marriage, the wife of a high ranking Fascist official starts a dangerous, self-destructive relationship with a duplicitous S.S. Officer.

Married to a high-ranking Italian official, Livia (Galiena) has turned her life into a complicated mess via her affair with a German soldier, Helmut (Garko), a relationship conveyed in flashbacks embedded within a tragic framing story filmed in black and white. Livia's passionate affair is interspersed with a number of separations from her love and sometimes shockingly sordid detours, even using her body to get what she needs. Meanwhile Helmut takes advantage of his rise up the SS ladder, setting the stage against a backdrop of fascist-controlled Venice for a reckoning for everyone involved.—Mondo Digital

March 1945, Asolo, Northern Italy. In the waning months of the Fascist regime, Livia Mazzoni, the elegant wife of influential local politician Carlo, is on her way to Venice in the car of lawyer and secret admirer Ugo Oggiano, her husband's trusted confidant. In high hopes of meeting SS Lieutenant Helmut Schultz--her handsome, lascivious, opportunistic lover--Livia takes a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about the ups and downs of the tempestuous clandestine affair that entirely changed her life. However, is Livia prepared for the shocking surprise hedonistic Venice has in store for her?—Nick Riganas