[1] Giulio Broccoli, who emigrated to the United States several years ago in search of fortune, is on the verge of finally returning to Italy but before leaving he decides to say goodbye to his old friend Mancuso, who manages "l'Italian Restaurant", an Italian restaurant in New York; but he defrauds him, secretly giving him 50% of the restaurant and stealing all his life savings and the plane ticket to Rome.
Stuck in New York, Giulio finds himself forced to manage the restaurant together and share the apartment he co-owns with Connie, Mancuso's daughter who returned to New York from Los Angeles after the end of her marriage; between various vicissitudes Giulio manages to revive the fortunes of the place and win over Connie and her daughter Angie; but when something is about to happen between the two, Connie is forced to return with Angie to Los Angeles to the bedside of her ex-husband, who attempted suicide after being left by his new future wife.
As if that wasn't enough, Giulio's residence permit expires: this forces him to return to Italy.
Surprisingly on Christmas Eve, Mancuso reappears with the money.
To stay in the United States, Giulio must marry an American citizen: just as he is about to marry the restaurant waitress, who is expecting a child from a man who abandoned her, Connie reappears and it is she who finally marries Giulio.