The film depicts five life stories in Naples—Italy's premier Mafia stronghold, where the laws and rules of the Camorra govern the lives of its inhabitants. In a city without hope, it is difficult for both perpetrators and victims to live.

Some of the people we meet are: Don Ciro, who pays maintenance to families where a member is imprisoned for crimes within Don Ciro's faction; Toto, who is thirteen and eagerly waiting to be accepted into the grouping; Roberto, a job-seeking university student; and Franco, who gives Roberto an offer with good prospects. But what kind of job is it? It is the handling of toxic waste. Finally, the film portrays the skilled, illegally working tailor Pasquale, who has been contracted by a large haute-couture fashion house. A temptation in the form of an offer from elsewhere puts his life in danger.

A blood-stained, deeply engaging film about power and money.