Vincenzo De Pretore explains to his girlfriend Ninuccia, who threatens to commit suicide if they don't get married, that he wants to wait until he can give her a comfortable life, and tells her that he is the son of a rich man, raised by a poor couple. But to make a living, he is forced to steal and ends up in prison. On Ninuccia's advice, he chooses St. Joseph as his patron saint, and from then on his "work" goes from strength to strength.