In 1914, with Italy on the cusp of joining World War I, a group of foreign artists establishes a commune on the rural island of Capri, catching the attention of young Lucia, a local illiterate shepherdess who soon falls under their spell.

Sonia, an introverted thirteen-year-old girl, suffers from a disorder that prevents her from breathing deeply. Raised in a messy family, she doesn't find the support she needs in the delicate transition between the end of childhood and the beginning of adolescence. While a part of her little world rejects her - her school friends, her boyfriend - she meets Daria, a slightly older and much more self-confident girl, who offers her friendship.