Venice, early 18th century—a city of contrasts. On the one hand, wealth, art, and freedom of morality; on the other, strict religious institutions and stark social divisions. Cecilia (Tecla Insolia), a talented teenage violinist living at the Ospedale della Pietà orphanage, is taken under the wing of a new teacher, Antonio Vivaldi (Michele Riondino). Surrounded by his tutelage, she begins to believe she can avoid an arranged marriage and forge her own path.