Claudio (Elio Germano) is a young construction worker who lives a happy life with his pregnant wife Elena (Isabella Ragonese) and their two children in Rome. They manage together their daily difficulties with love and complicity. One day at the construction site, Claudio discoveres the corpse of an illegal Romanian worker who died while working intoxicated, but decides not to report the discovery for fear that the site will be closed down. His life is further struck when Elena dies while giving birth to their third son Vasco, right after their vacation. This is the beginning of a new phase for Claudio, who now concentrates on becoming richer, and buying "things" for his three sons in the hopes of making them happier after losing their mom. Claudio blackmails his employer, Porcari, about the dead Romanian worker, demanding his own construction site to supervise in exchange for his silence. Claudio obtains the whole construction business, not only the wall building business.