For the 17-year-old Mariza, there is no other house than the train station in Civitavecchia. Here, an orphaned girl lives early after the death of her father, a railwayman; here she earns additionally at the station buffet, selling ice cream to passengers of passing trains. Beautiful and brisk, she was accustomed to the admiration of others and perfectly mastered the art of coquetry, but Marise’s heart remains calm until the young sailor Angelo, who is in a hurry on her first voyage, leaves the train on the platform on a sunny Sunday morning.