Elena is an aspiring actress caught between the comfort of her privileged family background and the uncertainty of her calling. Francesco is an architecture student, deeply in love with Rome and with living in the present. They meet one evening after a performance and quickly fall for each other. They spend their first night together and, the following day, are already on their way to meet her parents. Their love is instinctive and overwhelming, soon leading them to move in together and intertwine their lives in a routine that seems to work.
Until a job opportunity for Elena tears the couple apart. The young actress chooses to pursue her dream in the promising city of Paris. A few years later, following the death of her father, their paths cross once again. By then, however, the course of their lives has changed completely: Elena is about to marry Arthur, a Frenchman, while Francesco also has a new partner. A deep bond still exists between them, but the nature of their feelings has become blurred and difficult to define.
When their old group of friends reunites in France to celebrate the upcoming wedding, familiar dynamics resurface, prompting Francesco to confess that he is still in love with her. And yet, Elena and Francesco seem doomed to be forever out of sync.
"E' un mondo difficile" explores what it means to be an adult today and the courage it takes to let each other go, without ever ceasing to love one another.