Set in Sicily between the end of the War and the fifties, the “Vipera” of the title is the wife of a Sicilian smithy. She meets a man who shows her that life can be better and promptly leaves her husband and her little daughter.
The War ends but unfortunately things do not improve. Vipera’s daughter is raped by a former fascist officer, but says nothing to her father who has become an alcoholic and soon dies under mysterious circumstances.
Unfortunately Vipera’s daughter is also pregnant. The baby, a boy, is taken away from her right away and she is locked up in an institute until her 21st birthday. It is a bitter and hard young woman who is finally released back into the world. She is set on finding her baby but ends up finding her mother, Vipera, instead.