The story is seen completely through the eyes of eleven-year-old Tommy, with his sister Viola, at times a merciless bully, and his father Renato (Rossi Stewart), a seemingly harsh and unjust disciplinarian. For the three, an almost routine peace has settled over their motherless home until Stefania (a heartrending Bobulova) suddenly reappears just as recklessly as she had departed, upsetting the precarious equilibrium again.