Plot

A desperate Sicilian man, whose 15-year-old daughter was seduced and impregnated by his older daughter's fiancé, tries to find a way to save the family's honor.

Agnese, a 15-year-old Sicilian girl is seduced and impregnated by Peppino, her sister Matilde's fiancé. Soon Vincenzo, Agnese's father, discovers everything. He wants to force Peppino to marry the dishonored Agnese, but Peppino runs away and Vincenzo sends his son Antonio to kill him. At this point, Agnese goes to the police to try to stop events. They're all taken to court. But events can't be stopped, there's still time for a fake kidnapping. A happy end is still possible.—1felco

Peppino Califano (Aldo Puglisi) is a young man studying for a government job in Rome and visits the family of his fiance Matilde (Paola Biggio), and during one sleepy siesta he seduces Matildes sister 16-year old Agnese (Stefania Sandrelli). When the overbearing father of the family, Vincenzo Ascalone (Saro Urzi) discovers that his daughter is pregnant he tracks down Peppino and demands that he marry the young girl. When Peppino reasons that he shouldnt marry because he deserves a virgin for his marriage, Vincenzo maneuvers his son Antonio (Lando Buzzanca) to agree to confront Peppino and demand that he marry Agnese and if he refuses then he shoots him, reasoning that because the act is one of passion the prison time can be argued down by an attorney. Agnese hears of the plan and goes to the local police to have the cops intervene. When they bring both families before the judge he arrests father Vincenzo for fraud, and seducer Peppino for corrupting a minor. When Agnese is asked if she wants to marry Peppino, the girl who before has shown affection for the young man, is reviled by the interfering outsiders and refuses marriage more out of spite. Vincenzo plans yet another scheme to appease his own sense of family honor, and also retain a husband for his jilted daughter Matilde and get pregnant Agnese married to a suitable husband. As the two lovers Peppino and Agnese come to terms on the boundaries to their relationship, Vincenzo shows signs of the mounting pressure of arranging the clandestine details concerning the shotgun wedding.