The novella is written in the form of a private diary, narrated in first person by Countess Livia (she is from Trento, not Venice like in the film). At the present time she is courted on and off by a lawyer, Gino, whom she constantly rebuffs. Narration switches back and forth between this subplot and the main plot, which take place 16 years apart (1865). Visconti focused on the main plot, deleting the diary subplot and the character of Gino entirely. The film pushes Livia's story into the background and gives more detail to the war itself while introducing a new subplot about Livia's nationalist cousin, Roberto Ussoni, who leads a rebellion against the Austrians. In the film, Livia gives his money to her lover, leading to a dramatic massacre of the Italian partisans, an episode not in Boito's original story. Visconti strayed so far away from the original source, that at one point he thought of renaming the film "Custoza", after the big battle that occurs during the climax, but was denied due to legal reasons.