Vittorio, a man of about forty-five, a villager, sets out one morning from Via del Mandrione, on foot, to reach the Rio della Grana, the location of which he generally knows. He only knows that it is "over there", near the village of Gelsomino, "a thousand meters from the Pope's bedroom". He must meet an old friend of his, Aurelio, the son of Beddamadre, an old criminal who has been dead for years. Maybe Aurelio will give him a little job, maybe he will give him some money, maybe nothing. But, above all, Vittorio wants to see the Rio della Grana, he has heard about it from the old people of the village, it must be beautiful.

Leo is a brilliant but shy boy who has just moved into his new school. Here, together with friends Nick, J, Spoiler, Mimy, Emily and Siry, the girl he's secretly in love with, he will live new and fun adventures every day. The school of School Hacks is not a school like any other: the Histrionic Headmaster and the strict Miss Elia contribute to making it a decidedly out-of-the-ordinary institution.

A narcissistic artist's world turns upside down after his wife's affair and a disastrous exhibition of his work.