Francesca Ferro is an Italian tour guide and language tutor living in Bologna. Francesca is hired to help Marco Lazzeri learn Italian. As they spend time together, Marco finds himself drawn to Francesca. Learning that Francesca's elderly husband is ill and dying only caused Marco to be drawn closer to her. They spend a great deal of time together in Marco's final weeks in Bologna. When Marco makes the decision to leave Italy, he turns to Francesca for help. Francesca gives Marco her husband's passport, enabling him to travel to Washington, where he parts with the one piece of evidence that could end his life.