A young priest in a remote Sardinian village becomes secretly drawn to an isolated woman, prompting his devoted mother to follow him one stormy night. The narrative compresses intense events into two days, blending external action with inward turmoil to examine conscience, religious duty, desire, and communal superstition. The work focuses on psychological portraiture—maternal fear, the priest's conflicting impulses, and the community's primitive customs—culminating in a simple, inevitable tragedy shaped by forces both personal and societal.