Cabiria is a wide-eyed waif a streetwalker living in a poor section of Rome where she owns her little house has a bank account and dreams of a miracle. We follow her nights (and days): a boyfriend steals 40000 lire from her and nearly drowns her a movie star on the Via Veneto takes her home with him at a local shrine she seeks the Madonna`s intercession then she meets an accountant who`s seen her hypnotized on a vaudeville stage acting out her heart`s longings. He courts her. Is it fate that led to their meeting? Is this finally a man who appreciates her for who she is?