Italian televison adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel of the same name. Although it is to all intents and purposes a television miniseries, the rhythm of the acting is typically theatrical: the long dialogues, the acting style and the actorly interpretation make it a true example of episodic television theatre.

A journalist in Italy struggles with life during the war while dealing with the challenges of being a member of the communist party and maintaining a relationship with his wife.

Guerrino, a prematurely widowed businessman, falls in love with Chantal, a former paratrooper in the German army who changed sex a few years earlier.

A young boy tries to make living out of a puppet show when his mother abandons him and his father.

Alfredo, jailed for theft and fraud, after having served the sentence discovers that his wife Adelina no longer wishes to live with him.

Professor Serafino Benvenuti is a master of classical music who has the passion of the orchestra director. However, the young audience of the 60 does not appreciate classical composers like Mozart or Beethoven, and so Serafino is likely to have compromised his image as a director. One day Serafino receives the news that his adopted daughter Rita is about to return to Italy from America, where she is studying. Serafino is very happy, because at least he can teach her the real music. However, Rita is deeply grown and changed: she follows the musical patterns of her time: the rock music and blues. Serafino gets very angry, especially when he discovers that his daughter falls in love with a young man, a member of a band called "The Rockets.

Nannina is engaged to a sleazy, unruly boxer who ends up in jail after a fight with a traffic policeman.