Aldo, Giovanni& Giacomo are three best friends who live in Milan and have the acting bug. Like the majority of actors however they are usually "resting" and do all sorts of jobs: Giovanni works as a living model in the window of one of Milan's department stores, Giacomo is a dubber and Aldo is an extra at the opera.
They decide to stage Cyrano but rehearsals are turned upside down by a series of unforeseen events. Aldo tries to end a disastrous relationship with his terrible fiancée, Giovanni falls for Marina but she doesn't want to live with him and Giacomo, the romantic of the three falls into the trap of becoming the agony aunt of the other two.
The friendship of the three falls apart and each stews in his own juice. After three long years, Giacomo finally calls on Giovanni to tell him that Aldo is dying back home in Sicily...