Synopsis
There is a lot of excitement in Spoleto over the new Captain’s arrival.
Marshal Cecchini is on edge as he stands in front of the Carabineer station, lacking the courage to go inside. Just then Don Matteo arrives.
He tells Cecchini not to be upset that Tommasi left. The new Captain will surely appreciate Cecchini’s significant expertise. Cecchini is finally convinced and walks inside to meet the new, young Captain… who, surprisingly is a woman! Anna Olivieri, one of the very few woman officers on the force.
Anna has just arrived in Spoleto to fulfill two dreams- to hold the position of Captain and be with her longtime boyfriend, Giovanni Santucci, a bright young lawyer. Now that they are living in the same city, they can finally take the next big step. The only thing is, Giovanni is thinking about taking a different kind of “big step” in his life. He wants to become a priest. Anna holds Don Matteo responsible for this decision.
Anna’ sister, Chiara, studies at the University of Perugia. Contrary to Anna, Chiara is ditzy, a bit frivolous and dedicates more time to make-up than to her studies. While Anna has always had to hide her feminine side behind her uniform, Chiara has always used her femininity to her advantage. The two women are so different, yet so close they would do anything to help one another.
In addition to Anna, there are two other new ‘guests’ at the carabineer station. First, there’s Marco Nardi, the new Public Prosecutor. He is good looking, sophisticated and well-trained at his job, but always ready with a snappy and often razor-sharp comeback, especially when it comes to women. He seems to be quite the male chauvinist, even though his cynicism hides a deep wound. The new prosecutor immediately butts heads with Captain Anna, weaving a relationship with her built on dislike, respect, friendship and finally… love?
In the background, we have Corporal Romeo Zappavigna. Loyal, bright and precise even when things go awry, he naturally becomes Captain Anna’s favorite. This obviously irks Marshal Cecchini to the point in which every now and then he engages in some pleasant harassment of his own. Zappavigna even begins a relationship with Assuntina, Cecchini’s daughter, news the Marshal does not take lightly.
Another newcomer in Cecchini’s life is Cosimo, a little boy with no mother and a fugitive father. Cosimo is also the son of the woman involved in the accident that took the life of Cecchini’s daughter Patrizia, and the man is initially hostile towards the boy. With the help of Don Matteo, who decides to welcome the boy into the rectory, the Marshal becomes attached to Cosimo, who is desperately in search of a father.
Meanwhile, Don Matteo welcomes Sofia into the rectory too. Sofia is only sixteen and has lost everything, her house and her parents. She does not want to stay in Spoleto. Her life is in Rome and she will do anything to go back. Don Matteo’s extraordinary interpersonal (and investigative) skills lead him to the truth about Sofia… she was adopted and her guardian had brought her to Spoleto to bring her closer to her birth mother, Rita Levi, the gym teacher at Sofia’s high school.
Rita is also the one responsible for organizing visitors for Alice, a girl who fell into a coma after a hit-and-run crash. They call her “Sleeping Beauty” and her friends take turns keeping her company, sitting by her, speaking to her and making her feel loved. It was mostly Alice’s parents who asked for the visitors because they believe it will do their daughter good. Taking advantage of this situation, Sofia meets Alice and becomes friends with Seba, Alice’s boyfriend. He wants to see Alice too, to be near her and speak to her, but Alice’s parents won’t allow it. They hold him in some way responsible for the accident. Their daughter had gone to that party with him and it was “his responsibility” to bring her back safe and sound. Instead, Alice had walked home all by herself. Sofia is moved by the situation and decides to help Seba get close to Alice… that is, until something more than friendship blossoms between her and Seba. Now what if Alice wakes up?
Seba must decide who he wants to be with- Alice, who he feels responsible for and who takes advantage of this weak spot of his to keep him by her side, or Sofia, the girl he is surprisingly getting closer and closer to, but is complicated and distant?
Even Anna must face her true feelings. After her great disappointment with Giovanni, she becomes closer to Marco and the conditions between them seem favorable for a romantic love story… until Chiara, Anna’s sister, comes to Spoleto and falls for Marco herself! Anna is unable to voice her emotions and Marco is caught up in Chiara’s charm. Meanwhile, Giovanni realizes he isn’t really cut out for priesthood and asks Anna to marry him. Yet Anna’s heart now belongs to Marco and when Chiara realizes that Marco is also in love with her sister, Anna and Marco are finally able to live out their love story.
Things are more complicated for Rita. She needs to recover from being raped, find the strength to forgive her aggressor and start being the mother Sofia needs.
And Don Matteo? As always, he watches over all the characters, helping them, encouraging them and making decisions that are sometimes difficult, but which always come from the heart.
