The inhabitants of the small island where old Ernesto Pacillo lives with his son’s widow and his grandson can no longer make their living catching fish. The younger generation is betting on tourism but not everyone has business acumen. Giulietta, Ernesto’s daughter-in-law, takes care of the family in the hope that her son Filippo will find the courage to leave. When one day a group of shipwrecked Africans washes up on shore, the family finds itself forced to make a choice. The authorities demand, under penalty, that every illegal immigrant be reported, but Sara, who is taking refuge with the Pacillo family, is about to give birth. The two women, Giulietta and the foreigner Sara, are united by the same desire: to make a better future for their children. The shooting location draws parallels with Visconti’s famed work La terra trema. But the social motivations, while still present, have been replaced (in a poetic, almost fairytale mood) by the current issue of our approach to "strangers”: should they be viewed as unwelcome aliens or as human beings?