It is the end of World War I and the young Italian soldiers are making their way back to San Giovanni Rotondo, a land of poverty, with a tradition of violence and submission to the iron-clad rule of the church and its wealthy landowners. Families are desperate, the men are broken, albeit victorious. Padre Pio also arrives, at a remote Capuchin monastery, to begin his ministry, evoking an aura of charisma, saintliness and epic visions of Jesus, Mary and the Devil himself. The eve of the first free elections in Italy sets the stage for a massacre with a metaphorical dimension: an apocalyptic event that changes the course of history.
Katia, 17, spends her days with her boyfriend, Andrea, both living as outcasts, with few friends and little social interaction. Apathy rules their lives. When she's not having sex with Andrea in an abandoned shed, she sees other boys, watches illicit videos on the Internet and fights with her parents. Frustrated with the monotony of small town life, Katia nurses an angst that grows more severe. She drags Andrea with her into a tunnel of immorality and transgression.