Set in the early nineteenth century, Beatrice Fairweather, a shy woman and a serious student of art, returns to Italy to paint. There she becomes reacquainted with Angelo Bartolini, an attractive man from her past who is also an activist in the Carbonari movement (dedicated to the liberation of Italy from Austria). Their attraction is instant but obstacles to their union abound when Angelo grants another woman -- a dying woman -- her last wish by marrying her, only to discover she miraculously survives.