A businessman from the United States returns to Italy for the first time in four decades only to discover that an old girlfriend of his, along with her brother, have involved him in a massive hoax.

In pre-World War II Sicily, just as the fascists come to power, two men fall in love with the same woman. The changes in their country's politics ultimately take all three on a journey across the ocean to New York City.

Vincenzo 'hunchback' plans a robbery on a armored police van with his gang. Once the job is done, his gang try to kill him and absconds with the loot. Vincenzo hides in the sewers before looking up his friend Monezza who the police later interrogate for his involvement with vincenzo. Meanwhile, Vincenzo is getting revenge on his gang by killing them off one at the time in his various brutal ways.

A bureaucratic snafu sends Marco Tullio Sperelli, a portly, middle-aged northern Italian, to teach third grade in a poor town outside Naples

Southern Italian workers relocate to Milan and adjust to life in the city, where they reside in a house together. Among the group are country boys Gigi and Carletto, who are overwhelmed by urban living. While some find work at a hectic restaurant, others are employed at a grim slaughterhouse. However, when some of the migrant workers are unable to make ends meet, they resort to theft, worsening their situations.