In the immediate post-war period, amidst the rubble of a poverty-ridden Naples, two kids, Carmine and Celestina, try to survive as best they can by helping each other out. One night, they secretly board a ship bound for New York to reach Celestina’s sister, who emigrated to America several years earlier. The two children join the many Italian emigrants seeking a new life in America and arrive in an unknown metropolis, which, after several misadventures, they will learn to call home.

Antonio and Amalia are the parents of Naomi, a 17-year-old who's having her first love affair. Convinced he has passed the most complicated phase of family management, Antonio thinks he can finally enjoy life in the company of his beautiful wife but his plans are spoiled by the news of not one but two unexpected pregnancies.