Thirteen-year-old Giampiero is the teenage son of a decaying family. He gets to know Romana, a girl of his age, and they fall for each other. The trouble is that Romana lives in a Romani settlement set up near the block where he lives. Now, the coexistence between the travelers and the sedentary population is not without problems, so much so that violence winds up erupting. On the other hand, Romana's father is forced, to honor a gambling debt, to sell his daughter to a traveling merry go round owner. Giampiero, then decides to go in search of Romana and to elope her, as they had promised to each other...

Rome. La banlieue plus lointaine, dans un quartier délabré vit Giampiero, un enfant de 13 ans, beaucoup plus gentil et ingénu que la plupart de ses camarades. Le père de Giampiero, Alfredo, est marchand de fruits, homme simple mais pas méchant et Luciana, sa mère est une femme encore jeune, belle qui aime peindre. Un jour dans la classe de Giampiero arrive une petite fille: elle s'appelle Romana, et est tsigane...

Attorno allo scontro fra una comunità rom e la popolazione di un quartiere di periferia, il film racconta la delicata storia d’amore fra due adolescenti e le vicissitudini dei loro genitori.