An autobiographical drama adapted from a book by Anna Maria Scicolone. Loren is the illegitimate daughter of Riccardo Scicolone and Romilda Villani, a sharp but calculating woman still reeling from the pain of a missed shot at movie stardom. Now facing single parenthood, Villani manages to rise above circumstances, but transfers her own broken dreams to the young Sophia, relocating to Rome and using the girl's delicate beauty to draw the attention of the film and modeling worlds.