Rico (Omar Sharif) has been a barber for a long time, and he has been married to his wife for four decades. It's about time that they take a vacation from the tiny village of Petrella Guidi and concentrate on themselves and their relationship. Zaira (Léa Massari), Pico's wife, surely loves him: however, she is tormented by guilt for an affair she had (and enjoyed enormously) years before. Together, they journey on foot along a river to the sea, where the landscape is marvelously picturesque. Along the way, they eavesdrop on a young couple of lovers, and Zaira confesses her long-cherished sin to a priest. Eventually they make their way to the ocean.
~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide