Like every August, journalist Sandro, his family and acquaintances vacation on the island of Ventotene. This time, however, they find out the house next door has been rented to a lower middle class family, whose crass nature and values soon clash with their own intellectual and progressive background.
Rosa, a mature mother of several children, is concerned that her beloved husband Don Peppino is losing interest in her, and does his best to provoke some jealousy in him. She is a masterful cook, and if her romantic charms are fading, her culinary skills are not. By one means and another, and after some amusing confrontations, she succeeds in keeping her husband from taking her for granted and harmony is restored.
Teresa is a nurse and does not have an easy life: her husband plays poker and next to her she sleeps only and the father organizes the illegal lot among the sick. So one night Teresa is involved, in spite of herself, in a whirlwind of ambiguous situations, together with Ferdinando and Friariello, met by chance, between camorristi, dog races and a bingo of which he unknowingly becomes the prize. But "has to pass" to "nuttata", this is certain, but how?
After Annunziata (Angela Molina) opens up a hostel with her friend Antonio (Daniel Ezralow), she is saved from being raped by a Camorra boss as the gangster is suddenly killed. The killer escapes before Annunziata is able to see who it was. Following this murder are several others, and always with the same “signature” — a syringe in one of the testicles of the victims. As the gangsters continue to be killed off, the identity of the killer – or killers – slowly becomes obvious.
Island farmer Banana Joe helps the local community by trading his bananas for goods. When gangsters arrive with plans to construct a banana processing plant, Joe kicks them out, but the mob boss discovers that Joe is operating without a license. After the mob tips off the authorities and Joe's boat is impounded, he ventures into a big city for the first time to seek help.
Lizzy, a liberated American photographer, falls for narrow-minded journalist Paolo. Then finds she can't live with him or without him.
Two Sicilian's, Peppe Truzzoliti and Antonio Mancuso, decide, after a misadventure with some mafia drug dealers, to leave the cold and racist Turin to return to their native land. Along for the ride with them is Domenica, a beautiful girl from Veneto, who had arrived in Turin in search of work, but due to a number of setbacks, had been forced into prostitution.