Seven year-old Amerigo has grown up with his mother, Antonietta, in shattered post-WWII Naples. Together, they and the other poor families in their neighborhood scrape out an existence with odd jobs and occasional subterfuge. But then one day, Antonietta takes Amerigo to see a strange woman, and soon Amerigo learns, to his astonishment, that a train is being organized to send him and the neighboring children away from home. Together with thousands of other southern children he will cross the entire peninsula and spend a few months with a family in the North; an initiative to snatch the little ones out of misery after the great conflict. What ensues from this journey is a moving story of unforgettable bonds, artistry and self-exploration, and a soaring examination of what family can truly mean. Sometimes we have to give up everything, even a mother's love, to find our destiny.