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Read the complete plot summary and ending explained for 7 Women and a Murder (2021). From turning points to emotional moments, uncover what really happened and why it matters.
Near Christmas, a bustling house becomes a tense crime scene when a daughter arrives from Milan ahead of schedule and the family routine is upended by a brutal discovery. The mother Margherita Buy presides over a women-only household that includes a maid, the elder and younger daughters, the grandmother, and the mother’s sister. The maid Sabrina Impacciatore is dispatched to check if the father wants breakfast and returns with a chilling truth: he has been stabbed in the back. With the lines of communication cut and the car’s engine tampered with, there is no easy call for help, so the women must piece together what happened entirely on their own.
As hours slip by, the storm outside locks the house in a white silence, and a seventh woman arrives—an anonymous neighbor and the father’s former lover—after receiving a cryptic phone call confirming the father’s death. The blizzard prevents her from turning back, so she becomes part of the makeshift investigation, forced to hide her past with the family and confront the new reality inside the walls.
Inside the family, the grandmother Ornella Vanoni drops a devastating secret: the older daughter, who had returned home to tell her father she was pregnant, is not carrying his child. The revelation unsettles everyone, and in a moment of fear and control, the mother briefly silences the elder daughter by striking her, then quietly hides her in the storeroom to keep the truth from being exposed. The tension intensifies as the group attempts to move through the house, and a failed attempt to escape over the gate draws everyone back to the core of the home, where a shocking scene unfolds: the mother and the father’s former lover are found kissing, their faces smeared with blood from the chaos that surrounded them.
The maid Sabrina Impacciatore realizes something crucial but refuses to be the one to tell the story, insisting that the truth must come from within the family’s own dynamics. In a moment of bold confession, the younger daughter reveals that the confrontation with money, love, and loyalty was part of a larger plan between her and the father—to determine, after his death, who would mourn out of love and who would be driven by money. The revelation shifts the mood from panic to a grim clarity as the family races to the father’s bedroom, where they find him—alive at first in their confusion, but the truth soon dawns: the chaos they caused and the overheard whispers pushed him to leap from the terrace in his own room.
With the father dead and the evidence piling up around them, the household makes a drastic decision. They contact the police inspector Marco Rossetti to report what happened, but the real resolution comes from their choice to stay together, pooling resources and using the inheritance to protect one another. The house, once a site of private conflict, becomes a shared fortress where the women embrace a future built on mutual reliance rather than betrayal.
In the end, the initial tragedy evolves into a renewed sense of sisterhood and resilience. The family—now united after the father’s death and the revelations that followed—determines to live under one roof, supporting each other with the inheritance and turning the big, old house into a home that honors their shared strength and the complicated bonds that brought them to this moment. The story lingers on the idea that unity can survive even the darkest secrets, transforming sorrow into a reason to stay together. The cast’s performances—featuring the central matriarch, the sharp-witted maid, the pregnant elder daughter, the ever-watching grandmother, and the poignant younger daughter—underscore a story about loyalty, truth, and the difficult choices families must make when the past collides with the present.
Follow the complete movie timeline of 7 Women and a Murder (2021) with every major event in chronological order. Great for understanding complex plots and story progression.
Daughter returns home for Christmas
During the Christmas holidays, the eldest daughter returns home from Milan. She has caught an earlier train than planned and arrives at noon, changing the house's rhythm. The family is rounded out by a maid, the mother, the younger daughter, the grandmother, and the mother's sister, all under one roof.
Murder discovered: father stabbed
The maid is sent to see if the father wants breakfast and discovers he has been stabbed in the back. The wound indicates it happened overnight, and the house is suddenly locked inside. The women realize this is a murder and must start solving it without outside help.
Evidence of foul play: lines cut and car tampered
With the discovery fresh, they realize the crime occurred overnight. They find that the phone lines inside the house are cut and the car engine has been tampered with. Cut communications and a disabled vehicle force them to piece together what happened on their own.
Neighbor and former lover arrives, blizzard traps them
A seventh woman, a neighbor and the father's former lover, arrives after receiving a mysterious phone call saying he has died. She confirms the death but cannot leave because the blizzard keeps the house cut off. She remains inside with the others as the storm rages.
Grandmother reveals a paternity secret
The grandmother reveals that the older daughter is from another father. To prevent sharing more, the mother strikes the older daughter unconscious. The unconscious woman is hidden in the storeroom to keep the secret safe.
Tension at the gate: mother and ex-lover face off
The family attempts to scale the gate to seek air or escape, but a shout from inside pulls them back. Inside, they discover the mother and the father's ex-lover kissing, their faces smeared with blood from a violent confrontation. The scene reveals that passions overflowed amidst the chaos.
Maid hints at the truth but won't tell
The maid pieces together what happened but says she is not the one to tell the story. Her reluctance suggests the truth is more complex and includes motives for money and love. She remains a quiet observer to the unfolding drama.
Younger daughter exposes the motive
The younger daughter confesses that the night was a calculated plot between her and the father. They aimed to determine, after his death, who would cry from love and who would care only about money. Her revelation reframes the events as a social experiment rather than a straightforward murder.
Father stages a fake death amid the chaos
During the confusion, the father pretends to be dead to observe reactions. The stunt deepens the mystery and misleads the others. This staged death becomes a key turning point that leads to more shocking discoveries.
The truth emerges: the father dies by suicide
The family rushes to the father's bedroom and finds him dead. They realize the overheard information during the chaos after the faked death drove him to jump from the terrace in his room. His death is interpreted as suicide due to financial trouble.
Police informed and case closed as suicide
The women call the police inspector and report that the father has committed suicide. They attribute his death to financial troubles and the night's turmoil. The revelation shifts the focus from murder to the dynamics of wealth and desperation within the family.
A new alliance: unity and inheritance
With the mystery resolved, the women decide to stick together. They choose to take care of each other in the big house and share the man's inheritance. The new bond among the women solidifies as they face an uncertain future together.
Explore all characters from 7 Women and a Murder (2021). Get detailed profiles with their roles, arcs, and key relationships explained.
Maria (Luisa Ranieri)
The matriarch who wields formidable influence in the household. She guards family reputation, but her methods are aggressive and sometimes violent, as she even strikes the older daughter to keep a secret hidden. Her leadership is contested as tensions rise, revealing the limits of control in a money-driven crisis.
Caterina (Benedetta Porcaroli)
The older daughter who returns home pregnant, becoming a flashpoint for the family’s conflicts. Her secret status exposes fault lines between love, loyalty, and money. She navigates a hostile environment where truth-telling could jeopardize her future.
Veronica (Micaela Ramazzotti)
The younger daughter who becomes entangled in a plotted test of loyalties with her father. She ultimately reveals that the tragedy was a plan to discern love from money, illustrating how far she is willing to go in a game of inheritance and affection.
Margherita (Margherita Buy)
The mother’s sister, akey figure in the family’s power dynamics. She balances familial duty with the pressure of legacy, contributing to the web of alliances and tensions within the house.
Rachele (Ornella Vanoni)
The grandmother who holds the family history and authority. She reveals crucial truths, including the older daughter’s paternity, reframing motives and loyalties for all involved.
Susanna (Diana Del Bufalo)
The maid who discerns what happened but refuses to be the teller of the tale. She acts as an outside observer who pieces together the events while maintaining a measured distance from the family’s drama.
Ispettore di polizia (Marco Rossetti)
The police inspector who arrives to investigate the murder after the father’s death, guiding the formal conclusion of the case as secrets surface and the truth emerges.
Neighbor/Former Lover
The seventh woman, a neighbor and former lover of the father, who arrives after a mysterious phone call and becomes stranded by the blizzard. Her presence intensifies the mystery and alters the dynamics among the remaining characters.
Learn where and when 7 Women and a Murder (2021) takes place. Explore the film’s settings, era, and how they shape the narrative.
Time period
Christmas season
The events unfold over the Christmas holidays, in a snowy winter setting. The blizzard keeps the characters stuck together in the house as secrets surface. The timeline appears contemporary, with no specific year indicated.
Location
Milan, Italy, Family home (big house) in the Italian countryside
The action centers in a large family home in Italy during the Christmas season, with the house itself acting as a closed, pressure-cooker environment. A blizzard traps everyone inside, isolating them from the outside world. The festive season contrasts with the murder investigation, heightening the sense of claustrophobic suspense.
Discover the main themes in 7 Women and a Murder (2021). Analyze the deeper meanings, emotional layers, and social commentary behind the film.
🗝️
Secrets
Secret histories drive the plot as each woman guards truths about paternity, pregnancy, and past affairs. Revelations destabilize alliances and reveal how far people will go to protect family honor. The grandmother’s disclosures reframe motives, exposing a web of lies built on love and debt. The tension escalates as every secret threatens the family’s cohesion.
💰
Inheritance
Wealth and inheritance become the quiet engine behind many choices, steering actions more than affection. Different generations negotiate the distribution of the father's fortune, often through calculated moves. The younger daughter’s scheme with her father highlights a chilling calculus where money can shape loyalties. The pursuit of money tests moral boundaries and familial trust.
👭
Solidarity
Despite fierce conflicts, the women ultimately choose to band together, prioritizing mutual survival over internal vendettas. Their alliance shifts the dynamic from individual grievance to collective resilience. The story culminates in a decision to support one another within the family home. This solidarity underlines a turn from fragmentation to unity.

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Discover the spoiler-free summary of 7 Women and a Murder (2021). Get a concise overview without any spoilers.
In the wintry hush of a sprawling family estate, a sudden tragedy shatters the fragile peace of the holiday season. The patriarch is found dead, and a fierce snowstorm seals the mansion, cutting off the world beyond its walls. With the phone lines silenced and the road impassable, the house becomes a pressurized crucible where seven women must confront the unknown together, their every step echoed by the howling wind outside.
Lara, fresh from Milan, arrives unexpectedly early, her arrival setting the tone for the uneasy reunion. Elena, the matriarch, bears the weight of generations and hidden expectations, while her younger sister Sofia flits between caretaking and concealed ambitions. The maid, a steady presence in the background, knows the house’s hidden corners. Carla, the teenage daughter, balances youthful curiosity with a budding sense of responsibility. The grandmother, steeped in memory and tradition, offers both comfort and cryptic counsel. Finally, Miriam, a neighbor and former lover of the deceased, is drawn into the storm‑bound tableau by a mysterious summons.
Each woman brings a distinct perspective, shaped by love, duty, rivalry, and long‑held secrets. As they gather around dimly lit rooms and creaking corridors, the atmosphere crackles with a mix of festive nostalgia and mounting dread. The mansion itself, a character of its own, looms with shadowed hallways, locked doors, and the relentless whisper of the snow pressing against the windows.
The film cultivates a mood of claustrophobic intrigue, where every glance can hint at unspoken histories and every muffled footstep may conceal a clue. Amidst the festive décor and the bitter cold, the women’s interactions weave a tapestry of tension and reluctant alliance, inviting the audience to wonder how far they will go to protect one another and uncover what truly lies behind the tragedy that brought them together.
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