Raffaella has got everything she wants - a rich husband, exotic holidays and people to do her bidding. On holiday aboard a private yacht in the Mediterranean with a group of friends and bored of lounging around playing cards, she demands that deckhand Gennarino takes her to a nearby island to go swimming. When the motor on the boat dies, the two end up stranded and drifting, finally coming to rest on a desolate beach.
Stuck on a deserted island and now having to rely on Gennarino for food and shelter, the relationship shifts. With her fortune now counting for nothing, Rafaella has to cope with the loss of power and being forced to subjugate to Gennarino's will.

The film was remade in 2002 by Guy Ritchie, starring his wife/muse Madonna.