October 16, 1943, Rome. It is early morning. Lea, waking from a nightmare, hears a knock at the door. Two German soldiers give her a leaflet: Lea and her husband Enzo have twenty minutes to leave their lives behind and follow them.
In search of purpose, 17-year-old Claudio helps easygoing mechanic Stefano build a car capable of winning a street race that could solve his financial problems, but gets himself involved with the latter's former girlfriend.
Follows a criminal gang in Rome that has a near monopoly of the city's heroin trade. Besides their internal feuding, the gang has to deal with the Camorra and Sicilian Mafia that both supply its heroin, the police led by Commissioner Scialoja and the Italian secret services.
In 2008, a fight over land in a seaside town near Rome spirals into a deadly battle between organized crime, corrupt politicians and the Vatican.