Train operator Andrea Marcocci has to witness the suicide of a desperate man who jumps in front of his train. Under the influence of this shock he starts making mistakes. A check up by a doctor reveals that he's at the brink of becoming an alcoholic. Due to this evaluation he is degraded and must accept a salary cut.
In 19th century southern Italy (near Melfi, Basilicata), a small force of soldiers fight in the hills against the bandits who are holding their country to ransom.
A middle-aged insurer, after spending a sleepless night because of a quarrel with his wife, goes to the pharmacy to buy a sleeping pill. By mistake, the doctor, instead of giving him a sedative, gives him poison. The man goes out of town to visit a client and, unaware that he is wanted by the police, is more than once about to swallow the pills; but every time an obstacle prevents him from fulfilling his purpose.
