Paolo, a former footballer whose career was interrupted by an injury, tries with money to win back the favors of his ex-lover Daniela, but she rejects him and denounces him.

Luigi, unemployed with a dependent wife and daughter, manages to receive only a small part of the booty from Paolo; with this money he tries to escape to the countryside with his family, but on the tram, when the tickets are checked, his nerves give way: after a short escape, in the throes of guilt, he commits suicide with a gunshot.

Guido is the most marginalized of the group, the only one devoid of emotional ties: from a drawing professor he became a walking portraitist and then turned to crime.

Alberto is the youngest and still lives with his parents; he almost immediately runs out of money and wanders aimlessly for a while, not daring to set foot home to escape arrest.

Desperate, he decides to flee to the ledge, from which, without any way out, he too threatens to jump; but the touching speech of his mother persuades him to face the consequences of his act.