Italy. 1950. Giuseppe Zanfini, director of the Roggiano Gravina Center, reading a letter which has just arrived to an illiterate peasant, Emilia Tuoto. The letter comes from Emilia’s son, Nicola, who escaped from home and emigrated to France three years ago, hoping to find better working conditions. Emilia’s first reaction was to ask admission to the school, and now the 45-year old woman is coming every evening and works hard so that in the future she will be able to read her son’s letters by herself.