Donna Beatrice is determined to expose her husband's alleged affair with the beautiful wife of the scribe Ciampa. The woman, heedless of her own family peace and the reputation of the scribe, who tries in vain to stop her, carries out a plan that does not confirm the adultery but, on the contrary, causes a huge scandal. Ciampa finds himself "forced," finding no other solution, to kill the two alleged lovers, driven by Beatrice's "madness." It is precisely from this "madness," however, that Ciampa will find a way to free himself from dishonor and a crime committed lightly.