Antonio Lombardi, a seventy-year-old pensioner and former seafarer, lives with his son, Luca, and his family, sharing a room with his nephew. After a morning spent at the post office to collect his pension, the old man returns home loaded with sweets and cigarettes which he has to hide to avoid being scolded by his parents. The son and daughter-in-law, without noticing him, discuss how his presence is a nuisance in the small apartment.
At a bus stop they meet Francesca, an eighteen year old who is collaborating in a veterinary office, and Claudio, a university student. The two begin to walk together and talk about many things.
The Razzi family owns a small factory of sweets in Macerata. Their desire to enlarge their business to cope with the new Unified European Market brings to a string of fatal mistakes that will ultimately doom their wealth.