The film is set in Sagliena, an imaginary small town in central Italy; Marshal Antonio Carotenuto, an elderly womanizer who will have to adapt to the monotonous and quiet life of the village, is transferred here immediately after the war. Supported by the maid Caramella, the marshal runs the local police station.  When he meets knockout Maria De Ritis (Gina Lollobrigida), otherwise known as Frisky, Carotenuto makes his move, but the town heartbreaker already has her mind set on Pietro Stelluti, a young cop on his squad.  Thanks to the intervention of Don Emidio, who informs the marshal of the situation, Stelluti and the Maria De Ritis get engaged while the marshal, on the evening of the feast of Sant’Antonio, gets engaged to the town’s midwife: Annarella.