Giovanni, a laborer in a large industrial firm, accepts a transfer toSicily with the hope of gaining a better position. To do so means putting hisaged father in a rest home and leaving behind his fiancée of many years,Liliana. Their relationship has become routine, immobilized by the longengagement; the separation appears definitive. But the bitter alienation Giovanniexperiences at the plant in Sicily prompts a postcard to Liliana, and thenanother. For her part, Liliana, always excrutiatingly inarticulate, findsexpression in the written word. "They exchange letters full of sorrow andhelplessness. Their painful reunion is portrayed in an austere style, achievingan almost perfect analysis of two isolated human beings" (Mira Liehm).