An Italian family deals with many obstacles, beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the present. Two brothers, Nicola and Matteo, at first share the same dreams, the same hopes, the same books and friendships. Meeting Giorgia, a girl with mental disorders, will determine the future of the two brothers: Nicola decides to become a psychiatrist; Matteo abandons his studies and joins the police. Angelo--their father--is a loving parent and husband. The family experiences his exuberance with tolerant complaisance. Adriana--their mother--is a modern and irreproachable teacher, who loves her pupils like her own children. Giovanna is the eldest daughter, who joined the magistracy very young, and Francesca, the youngest member of the family, will marry Carlo, Nicola’s best friend, and take up an important role in the Bank of Italy and will--therefore--be in the sights of terrorist groups during the “leaden years.” Giulia, Nicola’s greatest love, will give birth to Sara, and Mirella intersects, in different moments and different ways, the lives of Matteo and Nicola. These people deal with the most crucial events and sites of Italy’s recent history: Florence during the flooding, Sicily and its struggle against the Mafia, the great football matches that saw Italy’s national team playing against Korea and Germany, songs that mark an epoch, Turin during the 70s with its blue-collar-workers, Milan during the 80s, the youth movements, terrorism, the crisis during the 90s, the efforts made to rebuild and reinvent a modern nation.