Summer 1997. Five young boys, Hector, Milo, Michelangelo, Neri, and Dante investigate the disappearance of Icarus, the dog of one of them, suspecting his sinister new neighbor. The boys will have to solve the mystery, juggle their complicated family backgrounds, and above all come to terms with their secrets.

Marcello is a Calabrian boy who dreams of becoming a footballer and lives with his mother, Tereza, of Arbëreshë origin, in the popular neighborhood called "Aranceto". During the imminent period of the 1990s World Cup, he meets Andrea Viscomi, a late career footballer, captain of the local football team, U.S.Collidoro. Their lives are intertwined. The friendship with the footballer rekindles in the boy the desire for a father figure that he has never had and in the footballer a forgotten carefree time, which has been lost above all due to his involvement in match-fixing. The coming-of-age novel of Marcello crosses the descending parable of Andrea's career, in the sign of a friendship necessary for both.

Lisa is a young 25 year old who has dreamed of cinema since she was a child. For her, the role of the runner is an important milestone: it is her arrival in the world of cinema, but also the starting point for a brilliant career. She is finally on a set, starting a relationship with Sonja, protagonist and film star. What more could you want from life? What could go wrong? But the actress has a dark past that comes back to look for her at the most unexpected moment. Accused of Sonja's murder, the girl is forced to flee. Lisa runs, runs to save her life and to find the evidence that will exonerate her and allow the real murderer to be convicted.

Rahil is a twelve year old Iraqi refugee girl living in an impoverished neighborhood of Rome, Italy. Her story is revealed in a series of flashbacks, as told by Rahil herself, through the bars of a jail-cell from an undisclosed location. Her guardians, Jamal and Anna, often argue and the local bullies label her stinky.

In Palmi, a small town in Calabria, Don Vincenzo, a genial retired farmer, has a crazy idea to revive the local soccer team by organizing a bizarre fundraiser hiring the Italian major league Serie A, soccer player Etienne Morville, a bad-tempered guy but among the strongest in the world. Albeit unwillingly, Morville leaves Milan to move to Palmi and try to save his image. In the small town he will come up against a reality of sincerity, which will lead everyone on an unforgettable experience.

A writer helps a mob boss steal Dante's handwritten "Divine Comedy" manuscript as a parallel tale follows the 14th-century poet creating his masterpiece.