The wife of a provincial industrialist, Silvana, who has suffered from a nervous condition for some time, is convinced that the young Romanian maid, Maria, is responsible for the missing valuable objects in her home. Without any evidence whatsoever, and against her husband Giovanni’s will and above all her young daughter Anna’s, she decides to suddenly fire Maria. Maria, who after wandering alone and desperate not knowing where to turn, decides to go to back to her ex-boyfriend’s house, Ionut, who has just gotten out of prison and lives in a tiny apartment with his younger teenage brother Victor. The passion between Ionut and Maria is soon rekindled but the unfortunate lovers are the first to notice that the family around them is no longer harmonious : Victor is suspicious of the newly arrived Maria and believes she should not be trusted for she will endanger his brother’s own happiness. In the meantime Ionut has started going around with a young coke addict name Marco Rancalli who also shares a difficult background. His eight year old son has been given in custody to his ex-wife, who exasperated by Marco’s aggressive behaviour and irresponsibility decides to take away his right to see their son altogether. The industrialist’s family, the precious objects in their home become the main focus of this desperate band of people. The emotional balance of these characters soon begins to crumble, causing things to reach a tragic end....