Amid factories of Italy and the wastelands, mum and wife Giuliana desperately tries to hide her tenuous grasp on reality from those around her, particularly her husband, Ugo. Corrado, ugo pal, can be sensitive to the worries of Giuliana and shows in town on a business trip. They begin an affair, yet it does little to exacerbate the existential anxieties of Giuliana, and her state immediately deteriorates.