Judge Pennisi deals with a lot of citizens every day, some of them criminals, but almost always ordinary people, suffering from a wide range of problems.

Paul, the son of a senior magistrate Neapolitan, was hired at the law firm of a friend's parent. The young man thinks he lost his mother, but the woman, who has long left the family, is now the mistress of the boss racket shops. Fleeing from prison, blackmail, murder, trials, recognition in extremis between mother and son more than a melodrama with strong colors, a real fumettone.

In a school where the meeting seems more complete sampling of teachers and professors stupid airhead, there is the class of Peter, repeating in life, which is the "grandfather" to the far more young companions concerning jokes and vulgarity. Even outside the school walls, in the family or in the streets of the village where he lives, Peter is not far behind and his antics continue to freewheel.

Gaetano, a young Neapolitan, decides to leave home, work and friends, to look for other moments of life and meet other people.

Fontamara is a village in the Marsica, forgotten by all but God and its inhabitants are called 'cafoni' (boors). Berardo Viola wants to marry Elvira but only after gaining enough money to buy some land and in order to reach his aim he has the idea of going to a great city. When Maria Grazia is raped by the fascists, Berardo and Antonio decide to leave Fontamara and go to Rome. Here they are swindled by a lawyer and afterwards they are invited by an antifascist to a restaurant where they are arrested by the police because of some subversive papers they had.

It is a law police officials obey out of fear. A rule chilling in its simplicity. Accept corruption...or die! They have sealed an unholy alliance. The great banks of Europe. And the blackhearted underworld empire. Together, with their matchless wealth, there is no stopping their almighty, corrosive power. Even the police force's investigation into the diabolical link has been polluted by corruption and terror! When key police officials of the inquiry are viciously assassinated, only two honest men remain--a commissioner and police chief--to carry out the suicidal investigation. And they must fight a deepening mistrust of each other. For they too, know the only rule of the game. They too, have been warned!

Diego is a troubled runaway who tries to make something out of himself by joining a swimming team and competing in national tryouts and champion races which takes a turn when he is struck by a terminal illness and attempts to find a way to beat it.

Davide Camporesi is the owner of the "Tornerai" pension in Cesenatico which he manages together with his wife Elvira and daughter Carletta, and which mainly welcomes German tourists. One day, during a trip to the countryside to buy wine, Davide meets Vindice Forattini, a former partisan comrade whom he had not seen for 30 years and who now sells agricultural feed together with his attractive daughter Cesarina. During the meeting, Davide is deeply impressed by Cesarina, and invites her to stay at the family pension. But things soon get out of hand to Davide, who finds himself romantically involved.

Son of a poor Sicilian sharecropper committing suicide (he owed half a million lire to Baron Lamia), 35-year-old Carmelo Macaluso returns to the Sicilian town, after 15 years of hard work in Germany, with a Mercedes, 100 million in his briefcase and the ambitious plan to buy the respect of the villagers ...