Southern Italian workers relocate to Milan and adjust to life in the city, where they reside in a house together. Among the group are country boys Gigi and Carletto, who are overwhelmed by urban living. While some find work at a hectic restaurant, others are employed at a grim slaughterhouse. However, when some of the migrant workers are unable to make ends meet, they resort to theft, worsening their situations.

A concentration camp survivor discovers her former torturer and lover working as a porter at a hotel in postwar Vienna. When the couple attempt to re-create their sadomasochistic relationship, his former SS comrades begin to stalk them.