Gilberto, a young man from the countryside, arrives in the city with the aim of carving out a future for himself. Initially he is dazzled by the sparkling image of the city, the spoiler of civilization, which will batter him until his personality undergoes a radical change.

In a coastal town with no name and desolated by poverty, the sea suddenly begins to exhale a scent of roses that transforms the lives of all the villagers.

Trino, Nerio, and Alfonso are poor chamber musicians trying to survive by playing wherever they can. During a general's funeral, the musicians try to play funeral music, but the screams of one of them, who thinks he's seen the deceased's hand move, cause such a commotion that the participants run away in terror.