The fisherman community of a small village in the Campi Flegrei (Naples) is going through a deep crisis because of shortage of catch. Oblivious to the issues raised by the fisherman, the policy of the local plenipotentiary (assessor Gregoroni) is focused solely on promoting the image of the administration though the media. The events of Gaetano and his brother Totore, a mentally handicapped boy, are closely entwined with this backdrop. The two, inseparable all along, will clash because of a staged celebration involving the fisherman organized by the assessor. Life is transfigured into entertainment, sacrificed to the needs of a political class more and more inward-looking and incapable of facing the people real problems.