An inside look at Italy's modern-day crime families, the Camorra in Naples and Caserta. Based on a book by Roberto Saviano. Power, money and blood: these are the "values" that the residents of the Province of Naples and Caserta have to face every day. They hardly ever have a choice and are forced to obey the rules of the Camorra. Only a lucky few can even think of leading a normal life.

Marino Pacileo has a soft spot for gambling. When he discovers that Lila's father, the young Chinese girl that he is in love with cannot pay a debt, the gambler steals money from the jail he is in to help the love of his life.

Inmates at a prison in Rome rehearse for a performance of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

Weaving together fact and fiction, this docudrama performs a portrait of the often seamy underside of the city of Naples.Ferrara traveled to Italy to interview the inmates at the Naples Pozzuoli State Prison, a high security lockup for women, and with the help of a translator he allows a number of women doing time to talk about their lives before and after they were convicted. Ferrara chose to expand the short profile of the prisoners into a feature by offering a look at life in the slums of Naples and the actions of a number of law enforcement officers and social workers struggling to improve conditions for the poor, as well as adding three short fictional segments shot of digital video gear.

Princess is a young illegal immigrant from Nigeria who sells her body on the outskirts of a big city. Like an Amazon on the hunt, protected by her friends, she moves through a pinewood that stretches as far as the sea, an enchanted forest in which to find refuge, hide away from life and earn her daily bread. Every day, in order to survive, Princess has to steer clear of dangers and sentiments, follow the scent of money and dupe her clients. Her life is a succession of days that are always the same, one joins to another, without a break. Until one day, driven by an inner force to break the shackles of cynicism and exploitation, she quarrels with the friends with whom she shares the street and meets a man who wants to save her, but first she will have to save herself.

Felice returns to his native Rione Sanità in Naples to look after his dying mother, having lived abroad for the last forty years. Here he discovers that his old friend Oreste has become a notorious crimeboss.

Carmine, a sewer worker for the city of Naples, finds himself working in the vault of the Bank of Naples one morning, and he gets the idea to pull off a robbery using the sewer system. To pull off the heist, he enlists the help of Gaetano, a former robber with several years in prison; the depressed Peppe "'o' Sciomen," a legend of the Spanish Quarter and also a former prisoner for robbery; the boxer Ruocco, a former professional who ended up fighting in clandestine matches; and Striano, a photographer and robber. After completing the robbery, however, Gaetano disappears without a trace with the million-dollar loot, leaving his accomplices locked in their lair, hoping to see him reappear. As time passes, strong tensions build between the four, bringing out old misunderstandings and fracturing alliances, until a new threat looms on the horizon: the powerful boss Jannone demands a share of the loot they don't yet have.

In a despairing, fatalistic Rome, Nicola finds himself flirting with the city’s dark side. Drinking too much and living among drifters, petty criminals and anxious immigrants, Nicola becomes entwined in an insurance scam that leads him further into a netherworld he may never escape.