Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell

Carla Campbell is a recently orphaned teenager living in the Italian village of San Fiorino as American GIs occupy the town during World War II. Over a tense ten days, she shares her home with three airmen—Phil Newman, Justin Young, and Walter Braddock—and each man becomes involved with her. When Carla discovers she is pregnant after each encounter, she writes to all three, who do not know about the others, to support the child she names Gia Campbell. The situation threads a delicate web: Gia’s paternity could rest with any one of the three men, and Carla’s future hinges on maintaining the secret.

Over the next two decades, Carla turns the money from these three connections into independence. She purchases a wine vineyard and runs it with her dashing manager, Vittorio. Gia grows up under Carla’s protective wing and is raised with the belief that her mother is the widow of a fictional army captain named Eddie Campbell, a name Carla borrowed from a soup can to shield her from social censure. This lie helps Carla gain social standing in a town that might otherwise shun her as a single mother, a stance tested by the town’s rival, the Contessa Contessa, who challenges her at every turn.

Twenty years after the war, the three ex-airmen return to the village for a unit-wide reunion of the 293rd Squadron of the 15th Air Force, accompanied by their wives and, in the Newmans’ case, a brood of children. Carla faces a flurry of comic, high-stakes moments as she tries to keep the “three fathers”—[Phil Newman], [Justin Young], and Walter Braddock—from discovering Gia’s existence. Vittorio remains a steady rock beside her, navigating professional pride and personal loyalties to help Carla and Gia through the crisis.

The trio’s wives—Shirley Newman, Lauren Young, and Fritzie Braddock—meet Carla and Gia at the local beauty parlor, where the town’s social currents surge and the community contemplates a possible memorial. The gathering deepens the emotional stakes as the residents rally around the idea of honoring Captain Campbell—a nod to the squadron’s legacy and Gia’s uncertain lineage. Meanwhile, the housekeeper, Rosa, becomes a catalyst in the unfolding drama, inadvertently hinting that the men may have learned more than they realize.

When the truth finally surfaces, Carla admits she does not know which of the three men is Gia’s father. She challenges the men by asking what kind of father each would have been, considering the small, pivotal moments in Gia’s life that were missing. The men speak with Gia, and [Vittorio] helps her understand Carla’s motives and the depth of her devotion—deception born not of malice, but of protection and love.

At the town’s dedication ceremony for the chapel, Carla asserts that Eddie Campbell would have been too humble to accept the honor and invites the Contessa to accept the dedication on behalf of the people of San Fiorino. The revelation loosens the financial ties: the “fathers” stop the monthly payments, and the Braddocks, who cannot have children of their own, agree to let Gia stay with them while she attends college in the United States. Vittorio remains by Carla’s side, cementing his role as both romantic partner and business ally, as Gia looks toward a future shaped by an uneasy but hopeful reconciliation of family, memory, and belonging.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:14