Pre-war Florence is the place to be for any proper British woman who relishes culture and the arts. These ladies have everything they could ever want or need - including a promise from dictator Mussolini himself that not even the imminent World War will impose upon their lifestyle. But when it appears that his word is not kept, and these expatriates - who chose to stay in Italy instead of seeking refuge in their own countries - are in trouble, it takes a young outcast boy and a brazen American woman (Cher) to keep them in the high life and out of harm's way.