Saluccio, the leader of the smugglers, is feared and respected because of his brutality. Antonio, the chief of the gendarmes, has sworn to take his enemy dead or alive. Teresa, the smuggler's wife, supports her husband, but her daughter Marina is torn between two feelings: one that pushes her to take her father's side, the other that makes her secretly hope for the victory of Antonio, whom she loves and is loved by. After an all-out battle, Saluccio is killed. Some time later, her grief forgotten, Marina marries Antonio.