Aldo is unsuccessful in finding work along the Po valley. When Rosina is almost hit by a car, Aldo slaps her face in front of a school yard of children, humiliating her. She runs off and walks among a group of men from the insane asylum. Her father retrieves her and they get a ride atop a petrol truck, but are forced to disembark before a police check point near a filling station. The truck driver tells Aldo that he'll pick him up the following day when the police are not around. Aldo meets Virginia (Dorian Gray), the attractive widow who runs the filling station, and asks if he and his daughter can stay until he can get a ride. Virginia offers him the shack next to the station and he accepts. The next morning Virginia offers Aldo a job. The truck from the previous day approaches and the driver asks if Aldo still wants the ride, but he declines, choosing to stay. That night their mutual attraction is undeniable and they consummate their desires.