Ramona Drottoveo, a chambermaid in a ritzy Italian casa, has two peculiarities: her albinism, and her delicious scent--a scent that drives men mad. She marries a beekeeper but falls in love with his assistant, and flees with him to the city, where she tries to become an opera singer. Various disasters strike, but throughout it all, Ramona and her lover eat as well as Italians are expected to, and the meals are as detailed as the plot.