Umberto, Lucia and Corrado discover that their co-worker and friend Umberto is terminally ill, but they can't bring themselves to tell him. They decide instead to organize him an unforgettable holiday trip to the South.
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.