Michele Apicella, Goffredo, Mirko and Vito are four highschool friends who were on the forefront of the political protests that characterized the second half of the 1960s. Now a few years older, the four friends are no longer politically active and struggle to come to terms with their present. Intellectually marginalized and disenchanted with contemporary society, they form a collective consciousness group to try to understand what to do with themselves. Another friend, Cesare, decides to join them although he has mixed feelings about the whole experience, leading a relatively comfortable life. Things change when Michele starts a relationship with Cesare's girlfriend Flaminia.