Giorgia and her sister inherit a villa and decide to turn it into a pension. When the sister orders the advertising, the brochure, together with the name, Pension Paradise, leads people to believe it is a whore house.

In 1900 in Rome, the poor carpenter Francesco, by a twist of fate, is recognized component of a noble family in the process of decay. Francesco knows the cynical and ruthless Prince Torquato Terenzi, disappointed by life and progress, and also falls in love with the beautiful Duchess Elisa. When Prince Terenzi dies, Francesco realizes that he's not enriched for nothing with the inheritance, because the noble family is broke; so he enlistes himself for the war in Libya, but quickly returnes to Italy, disgusted by the atrocities of the fighting. His dream is to be a singer, and so he goes to America with the Duchess Elisa.

Determined to rob a goldsmith, three young robbers break into his country house. The man and his wife turn out to be less defenseless than they seem.