What would make an Italian mother betray her first-born son? What if that betrayal reveals another - deeper, longer that reverses her entire married life and undermines her identity?

Oriana sculpts a bust of her dead husband trying to come to terms with his death and her loneliness in their marriage. One by one her four very different children are drawn into a mafia web. Emilio, the eldest has inherited his father's law firm, Isabella has five children and runs a small farm with Paolo, Lucia is a nun in an open order and Angelo, the youngest, wild and innocent, is a waiter.

After a tragic fire at Isabella's farm Oriana uncovers evidence of Emilio's involvement with the mafia. She takes it to the police and in his fury he tells her of his father's involvement and more...