The servant girl Carmela arrives from her village to work in the house of the notary Don Domenico, a hypocritical and ambiguous man, who seduces her. The girl flees from the house and falls into the clutches of a shrew who flatters her with promises and wants to exploit her beauty. A young man, Salvatore, known as Il Nero, who works in the sulfur mines, rescues her from the vile house and forces the notary to make amends for his wrongdoing by marrying her. The girl goes through the various events as if in a daze. On her wedding day, she faints before entering the church and falls seriously ill. Before she dies, she reveals that the sulfur miner was her only love and that his lack of understanding caused her illness.