影片根据真人真事改编，取材自1948年西西里岛，农会秘书普拉西多·里佐托从游击队归来后，带领贫农争取权益，不幸被黑手党暗杀的事迹。 At the end of World War II, Placido Rizzotto returns to his Sicilian village to discover a new Mafia chief has taken over, unfairly appropriating land and allocating jobs. Placido becomes leader of a local trade union and attempts to rally the villagers against the Mafia, but his struggle is destined to end in martyrdom.