In the figure of Ettore Zambrini, a small industrialist with a dream of opening a factory overlooking the Autostrada del Sole, Montaldo offers us an effective narrative transposition of the 'animal spirits' that governed the economic boom in Italy at the time. He is a character of contradictory humanity: capable of handling business, overdue bills, trade union relations, marital betrayal, but also the passion that binds him to his wife with equal unscrupulousness.

This film is very much a docudrama which portrays the difficulties of Italian life circa 1963 due to the absence of a divorce law. Five scenarios with different actors portray realistic situations where divorce is clearly warranted but, because marriage was strictly in the purview of the Catholic Church at that time, which strictly forbade divorce, these people are shown to suffer the consequences in their daily lives. Italy got its first civilian divorce law in 1970.