[1] Based on the eponymous novel by Gaetano Carlo Chelli and set among the huge changes taking place in Rome around 1880, it recounts the tale of an unhappy family riven by lust and greed.

After 40 years of hard work, the widower Gregorio decides to sell the bakery business he has built up.

He has no confidence in any of his three children, who all hate each other: Pippo is decent but weak, Mario is a gambler and womaniser, while the shrewish Teta is married to a pompous government employee.

Pippo marries the sweet and quiet Irene and ineffectually tries to run the ironmongery business of her old parents.

She wins over Mario, becoming his secret mistress, and even gains grudging co-operation from the abrasive Teta by their common interest in advancing themselves, not only financially but also socially to escape their origins as petty tradespeople.