The beautiful Hebe has been cast out by her family after a teenage pregnancy to a masked stranger during a fiesta in Italy. She makes ends meet and pays for her son's school fees by cooking for old ladies and sleeping with a small syndicate of adoring men (the "peacocks" of the title - from Greek mythology). …

Franz, a young man, works in a dye factory in Prague. One day he notices a skin-rash, like eczema, growing on his hands. All attempts to treat it with ointment fail, and the rash gradually spreads over his body. After complaining to the management he is laid off work; his relationship with his fiancee is affected. In a…