Henry, Aimée, Mei-Li, are in Catania, Sicily. Henry, a painter, lost is creativity and traveled the world. At 50 years he is not at ease in Sicily. Aimée, comes from the UK. Henry hopes to find his lost creativity and love, but she has different expectations. Mei-Li, 25 years old, from Shenyang China, ends up in Sicily, following an erratic path. Exotic, attractive, and daring she becomes temptation for many. Henry saves her from a rape attempt: they begin to get close. Henry seeks a drastic life change but feels trapped, unable to decide. He wants to resume travelling, he wants to paint, love and a new life. He acts to fulfill his personal needs unable to discern and share other people's necessities. All the characters in this story slide through time. Present, past and future all melt with memories and personal desires: chasing uncertain dreams they go on until, they will separately leave Catania, destination unknown, following their incompatible dreams.

It's 1943 and World War II is raging in Europe. In New York, Arturo and Flora the daughter of a restaurant owner are in love, but she is promised in marriage to the son of a Mafia boss. There is a way around this, but to be able to marry Flora, Arturo needs to get permission from her father, who lives in a village in Sicily. Arturo doesn't have any money, so the only way he can get to Sicily is to enlist in the U.S. Army, which is preparing for a landing on the island.

Army colonel Gabriele Moresco and twelve of his soldiers occupy a hospital in Sicily, Italy, taking every patient and doctor as hostages and giving an ultimatum to the government: if they won't admit their role in hiding proof of the use of depleted uranium in the Balkan Wars and the subsequent countless cases of cancer among Italian soldiers in 56 hours, all the hostages will be killed. Negotiator Paolo Manfredi is called to save the hostages, not knowing that his wife and daughter are among them.