In the fifties, life in Sicily was very grim for the poor, and Pino's family was impoverished. As a young man, he falls in love with Mariella, who comes from a rich family, and Pino learns that he can't have things his way.

Only pain and anger remain when they are separated. She is married against her will and he joins the army without being able to see her again. Time goes by and Pino embarks on a career in the hotel and restaurant business owned by the family of his army buddy Piero. Piero's sister, Francesca, falls in love with Pino and tells him so, but he has still Mariella on...