Giovanna Trada, a 13-year-old girl from Naples, Italy, overhears a whispered conversation between her parents, Andrea and Nella, in which her father likens Giovanna’s features to those of his sister, Aunt Vittoria. This comparison shocks Giovanna for two reasons: Her father maintains that Giovanna is pretty, yet he insists that his combative sister is a shadowy presence “in whom ugliness and spite were combined to perfection” (14). Though Giovanna can’t recall her aunt’s appearance, she does know that her parents both despise and avoid the aunt. The comparison therefore confuses and terrifies Giovanna, but it also ignites a desire to learn more about Aunt Vittoria. If she can just see her aunt’s face, Giovanna reasons, she can gain closure regarding her father’s hurtful words.

Before overhearing the whispered conversation, Giovanna lived a privileged, peaceful life with her parents. They reside in the higher, wealthier part of Naples called Rione Alto, a sharp contrast from the lower, working-class Naples known as the Industrial Zone in which Aunt Vittoria and the rest of the family lives. Giovanna spent her days wearing beautiful dresses, having fun with her friends Ida and Angela, who are siblings, and listening to her intellectual father hold court with his best friend

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