Lise, a mentally unbalanced middle-aged woman, travels from her home in Hamburg, Germany to Rome, Italy where she embarks on a fatal destiny that she had helped to arrange for herself – a premeditated search for someone, anyone, with whom she could form a dangerous liaison. Lise meets a variety of people during her journey and stay in Rome who include Bill, a lecherous British businessman that she meets on the plane to Rome who tries to seduce her; Carlo, a young man whom Lise tries to know more about; an elderly Englishwoman named Mrs. Fiedke whom Lise bonds with to go shopping; and Pierre, a Frenchman who picks up Lise hoping to seduce her as well.
The film is told in a non-linear narrative as throughout the film are scenes of the local Rome police interviewing all the people that Lise interacted with as well as investigating the reasons for her strange behavior that led up to her own murder.

20世纪10年代，罗马贵族达尼埃莱•迪巴尼亚斯科Daniele di Bagnasco（特伦斯·斯坦普饰）是个上流社会的花花公子，爱上了一个漂亮的小资女人玛诺埃拉·罗代里吉Manoela Roderighi（劳拉·安托内利饰），什么也无法抵挡他与玛诺埃拉的激情往来。一段时间之后，他的心上人开始经常流连于妓院。达尼埃莱赶到那个优雅的妓院，让他难以置信的是玛诺埃拉的平静和无意识，也没有发现她有什么特别的相好。终于，在一个暴雨之夜，玛诺埃拉向达尼埃莱坦言，她遇上了一位男人。达尼埃莱不愿意从她的嘴里吐出这个男人的名字，但他很快发现，玛诺埃拉的新情人是他的表兄米凯莱·巴拉Michele Barra（马塞洛·马斯楚安尼饰）……
影片改编自瑞士裔意大利作家和记者卢恰诺•祖科利（Luciano Zuccoli；1868.12.5~1929.11.26）的著名小说《神女》（La divina fanciulla；1919）。意大利的一些贵族参加了小说中许多贵族人物角色的扮演，为该片增色不少。

An actor arrives to Naples. Tourist season has not yet begun. Capri is desert and the sky is really grey. He's waiting for a woman who won't come. In the meanwhile he's having a strange relationship with a young alcoholic man who even tries to kill him; he's getting bored, with no ideals, strong and weak at the same time. The two men are having a strange friendship, or they try it at least, until a woman comes to the isle. "In this movie words are used in a way different from usual. When they talked to each other, the three leading actors were talking about ordinary things, not about their relationship. They never talked about their feelings. The story was shady, as it's filled with missed attractions and hidden feelings. Actors were expressing themselves with moves, gestures and their contribution was fundamental for that. Only good actors could do that"

Mario is in Hannover to work as a miner but after loosing his job he decides to go back to Italy. When Totonno steals his passport to avoid the police and later on he offers him a new job as "magliaro" (cloth seller), Mario changes his mind and decides to follow Totonno to Hamburg. In Hamburg, Totonno and his friends have to sell Mayer's cloth but they meet with the hostility of a Polish gang and Mario falls in love with Paula Mayer.

一个很普通的由中年夫妇和一个小女孩组成的中产阶级家庭。妻子偶然红杏出墙，后来却发展到要与情人谋害亲夫的地步。结果却是情人被丈夫给杀害了。

A liberal-thinking author watches his wife as she attempts to seduce his best friend at a dinner party. She ends up taking on another man as well, and the writer has an affair with the another dinner guest. Soon the three men and two women are entangled in a confusing series of partner-swapping sex sprees where everyone's morals are challenged in the wake of the sexual revolution.

1961 film by Valerio Zurlini

"The Witch Burnt Alive"
After a very long, but visually arresting animated opening credits sequence, Luchino Visconti (Death in Venice) directs the first story, which is the longest of the five, taking approximately a third of the film's running length. Mangano plays a superstar actress and model who travels to a mountain resort, only to find the well-to-do inhabitants have prejudices and preconceived notions about her based on her public persona. The women are all jealous and the men all want to sleep with her, but all Mangano wants is to be left alone. It's a mostly somber satirical piece, but story-wise, it languishes in its modest idea a bit long, becoming inconsequential to all but those fascinated by the realities of being famous.
"Community Spirit"
Bolognini's piece isn't really a story. It's more of a visual gag, in a short segment that features Mangano offering to take an injured man to a hospital, driving him at breakneck speed throughout the city, but not stopping at locations where he might find aid. I won't give away the punchline here, but it succeeds in being amusing, even if it's the kind of thing that only is interesting the first time through.
"The Earth Seen from the Moon"
The esteemed writer/director, Pier Paolo Pasolini (Salo), crafts the middle segment, which is the most artistic and memorable of the five. Reminiscent in style to "Don Quixote", a recently widowed father and his son travel around the country in search of a new wife and mother, and after a long period, they discover the literally speechless Mangano. She brings joy into their lives, but they are poor, and in order to find a better life for themselves, they concoct a scheme to try to make some quick cash. The story is contrived, and not completely interesting, but the outlandish performances, artwork, and costumes does evoke great charm and likeability. Although mute, it's probably the most appealing of Mangano's five performances, and Toto is terrific.
"The Sicilian"
Franco Rossi directs the fourth an shortest piece, a straight-forward revenge story that comes and goes before it ever has a chance of becoming interesting. It's violent, but easily the least satisfying of the five stories.
"A Night Like Any Other"
Eastwood's appearance is clearly the biggest attraction here, which was filmed in between the Sergio Leone "Dollars" trilogy. It's an enjoyable departure from his normal roles, playing a comedic romantic lead, and he is affably fun to watch. Famed Italian director, Vittorio de Sica (The Bicycle Thief, Umberto D.) does a masterful job with the story, which perfectly blends the mundane and the fantasy in a visually satisfying way. The story is about a bored housewife (Mangano, of course), who tries in vain to get her husband to realize that he is not as romantic as he used to be. The scene is interspersed with comedic romance sequences revolving around the couple's past romantic interludes, and dreams of how their lives should be.