A tale of best friends Lila and Elena, which started at school in Naples in the 1950s. As an elderly woman, Elena tries to unravel the mystery of her brilliant friend, who also became her worst enemy.

Barbara is a cynical schoolteacher who is close to retirement. Her only means of taking the edge off her desperate loneliness is writing in her journal. Sheba is a younger, attractive woman, who joins the faculty as an art teacher. Barbara watches her from afar and has nothing but caustic things to say in her diary. Barbara finds herself reaching out to Sheba. Sheba responds by inviting her to dinner at her house to meet Sheba's lecturer husband and...