On Christmas Eve, Andrea, a railway engineer, takes a long break after work at the tavern, where he drinks heavily. He returns late and finds his family irritated by his behaviour. Worst of all is his daughter Giulia, who is about to give birth. She begins to feel ill and gives birth to a stillborn child. The sad event greatly impresses Andrea: he has pushed his daughter into marriage as he felt he no longer loved the man who had made her a mother. The accidental running over of a suicidal man and the failure to observe a blocking signal cause an investigation against the railwayman and aggravate his mental crisis. In the meantime, the family breaks up: a violent quarrel between father and daughter, provoked by Giulia’s illicit affair, also involves the second son, already an adult and dedicated to shady exploits. In collaboration with Surf Film, introduced by Roberta Novielli.
