Martha Heyer, a virginal 31-year-old librarian, is on vacation in Rome with her domineering unloving father, a fastidious man who refuses to be touched. At their first stop while touring the city, the Spanish Steps, he suffers a heart attack and dies. Martha soon discovers that her purse, containing all of her money, has been stolen in the confusion. She reaches for help at the German embassy and phones her mother giving her the bad news. Leaving the embassy, Martha crosses the path of a gentleman, who catches her eye – and she his. They are mutually mesmerized but keep going their own ways.