In a despairing, fatalistic Rome, Nicola finds himself flirting with the city’s dark side. Drinking too much and living among drifters, petty criminals and anxious immigrants, Nicola becomes entwined in an insurance scam that leads him further into a netherworld he may never escape.

Three different epochs through the gaze of three children: Zelinda, who loses her mother to the Spanish Flu during World War I and sees the specter of Nazism loom; Assunta, who lives during the Nazi occupation between bombings, raids, and executions; Icaro, who abandons the countryside during the Years of Lead (“Anni di Piombo”) and accepts a new life. A story across the difficulties and the troubles of the 20th century between memories, affection, nostalgia, and gratitude.