In the late 1970s and early 80s, assassinations in Sicily get the attention of Communist deputy, Pio La Torre, who appeals to General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa to become prefect in Palermo and take on the Mafia. Dalla Chiesa approaches the job with the same focus and methods he used in hunting down the Red Brigade.

The "stone in the mouth" is the scar that the mafia makes on betrayal's corpse. The modern mafia has the historical and sociological roots into the birth of the american capitalism at the time of Roosevelt. The American "Cosa Nostra" applies the similar methods as the sicilian mafia: same apparatus, same "omertà", same power and same terror. Giuseppe Ferrara, journalist and writer, uses fragments footage, film clips, and current news to make this film.

In a farmhouse in southern Italy, an old woman dies. Her husband summons their sons: from Rome, Raffaele, a judge facing a political case for which he risks assassination; from Naples, the religious and ideological Rocco, a counselor at a correctional institute for boys; from Turin, Nicola, a factory worker involved in labor disputes. Once home, each encounters the past and engages in reveries of what may come.

In the early 19th century, in Seville and the surrounding area, Carmen seduces the sergeant Don José, who deserts the army to be with her. But the beautiful gypsy falls in love with the bullfighter Escamillo, much to Don José’s despair.

Egocentric bandit Salvatore Giuliano fights the Church, the Mafia, and the landed gentry while leading a populist movement for Sicilian independence.

Enrico Mattei helped change Italy’s future, first as freedom-fighter against the Nazis, then as an investor in methane gas through a public company, A.G.I.P., and ultimately as the head of ENI, a state body formed for the development of oil resources. On October 27, 1962, he died when his private airplane crashed during a flight to Milan. Officially, it is declared an accident, but many journalists explore other plausible reasons for Mattei's untimely death.

Stefano, son of the Mafia Don Angelino Ferrante, is killed by Gaspare Ardizzone (John Saxon) for refusing to sell some valuable land. The old don sends for Ferrante Santino Billeci from America, in the hope that he'll be able to help in getting revenge. But Gaspar, meanwhile, is becoming the most powerful and ruthless boss of the area...

In the fascist Italy of 1935, a painter trained as a doctor is exiled to a remote region near Eboli. Over time, he learns to appreciate the beauty and wisdom of the peasants, and to overcome his isolation.

A detective is assigned to investigate the mysterious murders of some Supreme Court judges.