A family struggles to go on after a devastating loss. Giovanni (Moretti) is a psychiatrist with a successful practice. He has a warm relationship with his wife, Paola (Morante), and they have a daughter, Irene (Trinca) and a son, Andrea (Sanfelice). The family's calm is shattered when Andrea is unexpectedly killed in an accident. Giovanni finds it impossible to continue with his work, and blames himself for the death, since he was planning to go jogging with Andrea that morning before he was called away for a patient. His wife and daughter try to keep their emotions in check, but both sink further into anger and grief. And then the appearance of an unexpected visitor forces the family to confront their feelings about Andrea. Arianna (Vigliar) is a girl who had a summer romance with Andrea the year before, and has come to town to pay him a surprise visit, unaware of his recent death.

Küçük bir italyan kasabasındaki birbirini çok seven bireylerden oluşan bir aile... Baba giovanni, anne paula ve ergenlik çağındaki iki çocuktan irene ile andrea... giovanni bir psikoanalisttir. eviyle bitişik olan muayenehanesine gelen ve çoğu nevrozlu olan hastaları büyük bir güven duymakta ve ondaki soğukkanlı yapısıyla tam bir tezat oluşturmaktadır. bir pazar sabahı bir hastasından acil telefon gelir. giovanni oğluyla sabah koşusuna çıkacaktır ama sözünü tutamaz. bunun üzerine oğlu andrea arkadaşlarıyla birlikte denize gider ve bir daha hiç dönmeyecektir.