Desiré is a napolitan girl of senegalese origins, she is sixteen years old who lives from day to day. She doesn't have any friends, any interests or any great passions; her world seems to be as empty as the gaze of her mother – a drug addict who is fighting a losing battle. The only meaningful thing in her life is her affection for Emanuele, a slightly older guy who is keen to quickly move up the ranks in the local underworld. It is because of these dealings that Desiré finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time: she gets arrested and is sent to a young offender institution. As her lengthy sentence unfolds, Desiré finds herself on a gradual journey of self-knowledge that she didn’t think was possible.