Marlena, an English girl with her head full of secrets and her arms full of needle scars, arrives in Sicily to be a stripper. A heart-stopping encounter with Jula - whose secret pride is his Romany blood - transforms her life. She quickly gets caught in the crossfire of anti-gypsy fury and right-wing politics. When a girl is attacked and has the words puttana rumana (Gypsy whore) carved on her body, Marlena and Jula flee to his family farm. After a horrifying humiliation, Marlena plunges back to an errant life of drugs. Will her impassioned letters to Jula get through?