Raffaele an off-campus university student, with a strong love for science and for his fiancée Alice. Raffaele is a hard worker, in order to pay the university he does two jobs: he is a bellhop at a flower shop and a clerk in a clothing store, all without the two employers being aware of the other respective job.
In late 19th-century Sicily, the noble Uzeda family – whose lineage dates back to the ancient viceroys that ruled those lands – fights to preserve its waning power in the face of the newly unified Italian regime.
A relationship develops between seasoned actor Stefano and his young, ambitious co-star Laura when they are cast as the two leads in a film. Stefano must deal with his growing jealousy when Laura's career begins to take off.