Wertmüller uses lesbianism to deflate Italian machismo in this rarely seen comedy of (bad) manners. Ester (Lario) finds herself sexually attracted to her newly divorced friend Adele (De Santis). When Ester admits another love to her hot-headed husband, he searches manically for the rival, who he never suspects is a woman. With the discovery of the truth, the farce turns tragicomic as Wertmüller focuses upon the husband's unraveling. Rather than on an examination of lesbianism in an Italian context, Wertmüller uses sex as a metaphor for self-discovery.