The film is a photograph of a complex, variegated reality little known outside Puglia. The foundation and expansion of the former Italsider steel mill, now Ilva, in the 1960s; the local population’s hopes for a steady job and a better life; the countless accident-related deaths over the ensuing years; the devastating environmental impact caused by dioxin and particulate emissions. Eyewitness testimonies describe a local situation similar to many, many others around Italy.