In Italy in the 90s, Zena, daughter of the Pope's doctor and granddaughter of a former fascist, is admitted to a reformatory, Villa Bianca, where deviances are “cured”, the last resort for the parents of Italian good society who wish to “repair” a rebellious generation. There, she meets and befriends three teenagers: a young nymphomaniac, Alfonso, a whimsical young man who intends to express his homosexuality, and Adriano, who has been mute since his mother's disappearance.

'Carmela's diary' tells the story of a 15-year-old girl who lives on the outskirts of Naples and is forced to work for her family's shopping center. Caged in a life that only promises her an uncertain future. Carmela perceives her adolescence as captivity, forced to live as a prisoner by her mother, Maria, who forces her to sell drugs along with her older brother, Ciro. War breaks out amongst the gangs in the neighborhood and Carmela is forced to stay indoors, with the windows well sealed, and give up everything, even one of the things she loves the most, going to school.