The freckle-faced Vince's life in a Roman mountain village is unfulfilling, to say the least. His father Cenzo lost his job after a local chemical plant closed; shortly afterward, Cenzo's wife Paola dumped him for a politician. Fed up, Vince travels to the beach town of Pescara and lands a job as a junior cook at a tourist resort. While there, he falls in love with Genny, a waitress plagued by a phobia of traveling. Just as the romance begins to take off, Cenzo appears at Vince's doorstep demanding that his son help him get Paola back.