Antonio Mombelli is content with his life as a primary school teacher in the small town of Vigevano. His wife, however, is ashamed of their humble circumstances and dreams of something better for their family. She insists he quits his job, gives up on his pension, and opens a small shoe factory.
Leo ve Angela Russo, baskıcı İtalyan-Amerikan aileleriyle çevrili Queens'te basit bir hayat yaşıyorlar. Oğulları lise basketbol takımında başarılı olunca Leo bunu gerçekleştirmeye çalışırken aileyi paramparça eder.
A modest Neapolitan man meets a young woman with excessive hairiness. He exhibits her at fairs and marries her. It is after marriage that he receives a tempting offer from a French manager.
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Pauline otobüste kendisine yardım eli uzattığı günden sonra inatçı, yorgun Matthew Morgan bir kez daha mutlulukla tanışır. Genç kadının içten yaklaşımı ve asla yitirmediği iyimserliği ile yaşlı ayakları adeta yerden kesilen sessiz öğretmen, eşsiz bir yaşam öğrencisine dönüşür. Çift, bir arada olmanın ve ailenin anlamını keşfeder.