Paolo and Maria are two ordinary newlyweds who live just outside their town. One morning Paolo goes out to buy some fish and doesn't come home. Down in the main square, a woman has had a valuable necklace snatched by a teenager on a lark. When the thief gets away, Paolo, whose path has crossed that of the woman and the townspeople, is accused by the victim of pulling off the heist. He tries to run away but is picked up by a cop and taken to a basement, where the policeman orders him not to move and await his return.