Piemonte, 1894. Maria, the impoverished daughter of a once affluent farming family, faces a painful choice: live as a poor relation in her brother's wife's household, or marry a newcomer to the county, the game warden brought in by Maria's mother's godmother, who is the chatelaine of one of the principal estates of the area. She chooses marriage, and it proves to be a disastrous choice. Her husband, Mat , turns out to be a dishonest, violent drunkard...