Plot Summary

1940s Venice. As fascism makes its presence felt, the retired art critic, Professor Nino Rolfe, and his much younger wife, Teresa, feel their passion is waning. To help Teresa shed her inhibitions and rekindle their relationship, the grizzled intellectual has a wild idea: he lets his imagination run wild and records his sexual fantasies in a secret diary, hoping that Teresa will soon find it and read it. In his frank confessions, Nino urges his beloved Teresa to rid herself of modesty--all she has to do is find the diary's precious key. Will innocent Teresa ever discover Nino's unspoken desires?