A gang of robbers takes possession of a load of diamonds.. Only one of them, Mark Lemmon, is arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. But before being captured, the gangster had managed to hide the loot in a sewer. Five years later, Mackenzie, an insurer, pretending to be a mafia boss, assigns three petty criminals to arrange his escape. Once free, Lemmon finds the booty but now he has to deal with his new 'partners'.

Emilia Bonelli is an overly ambitious and driven woman. This dominant personality trait has its effects on her henpecked husband Luigi, and her daughter Carla. Circumstances ultimately lead to the courtroom and an aloof judge in the persona of Andrea Morandi.