An acid portrait of Italian youth at the time, I DELFINI follows a dreary season of discontent and viciousness in the lives of a thoroughly unpleasant group of mostly rich youngsters in a small Adriatic coast city.

A detective gets involved with the beautiful daughter of an old friend. The daughter turns out to be a jewel thief, who in turn gets the detective involved in a caper in Austria.

A penniless countess falls in love with a cad, unaware that he is also involved on the side with her beautiful daughter.

A group of rich young intellectuals hiding from the war in rural Italy play at being partisans when some disbanded soldiers and some refugees ask them for shelter in their villa. The young and aristocratic Andrea strikes up a friendship with a peasant girl, Lucia. Then the Germans suddenly appear, looking for the real partisans, and the time comes for serious decisions.