Ras (Eli Wallach) is a ruler or dictator who covets another mans wife (Mariangela Melato) as his own. He gets what he wants, but Ras wants more in this case, to humiliate Marcello (Nino Manfredi), a dedicated musician whose life he has already ruined by leaving his cat and taking his wife. He forces Marcello to seek an annulment to his marriage through the Vatican. Ras gets everything, but Marcellos wife, Giulia, and Marcello have other ideas.