Franco Lucci is an entrepreneur on the verge of bankruptcy. The salvation of his company hangs on a large public contract that he could obtain thanks to the intervention of a minister who has become a friend and whom he has invited to dinner. Together with Michele, his partner and brother-in-law, Franco has organized the perfect evening: in addition to paying him a large bribe, the two arrange for him to find a girl willing to sleep with him in exchange for a recommendation. All under the eyes of Rita, Franco's wife, who tries to indulge her husband in his last desperate attempt to obtain the million-dollar contract. Because of the girl, the evening takes an unexpected turn.

The film is set in Reggio Calabria in the late eighties, when bribes are everywhere and the power of the city is in the hands of two bosses: Saro Lodato and Cocò Raffati.

When a man disappears and leaves a daughter and mother in heavy debt they have to live on a houseboat to make ends meet.