Adriana is a young woman from a small town in the countryside surrounding Pistoia, who moves to Rome to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. She initially works in a hairdressing salon and later manages to secure a job working in fancy dress at a small cinema. While socializing with young men of the upper middle classes, she is introduced to an agent called Cianfanna, who introduces her to a journalist friend of his so he can write an article on her.
Adriana decides to go home to visit her parents, but upon returning, she is distraught to learn of the death of her sister. Returning to Rome, she takes acting lessons but during one session she suddenly faints: she is pregnant, with no idea of who the father of her child is. The days pass, and Adriana tries to forget about her pregnancy while having an increasingly long list of lovers. Despite these encounters being less than enjoyable, Adriana falls in love with a decent young man named Antonio from a respectable family.
