Adaptation of the novel by Umberto Saba, about a Jewish youth in turn-of-the-century Trieste, who comes of age in a homosexual relationship with an older worker at his uncle's factory. He goes on to enjoy heterosexual affairs as well, and decides to marry a young woman (whose twin brother also attracts him!). But while Ernesto sparks genuine love in the hearts of others, from the simple laborer to his sophisticated fiancee, he remains incapable of feeling love for anyone.