When the catastrophe of the Second World War strikes Rome, Matilde, Cencio, Fulvio, and Mario are like brothers and sisters. They perform in a circus in the Eternal City in 1943. In an effort to arrange for them all to travel abroad, Israel, the owner of the circus and their alleged father, vanishes. There is chaos among our four buddies. The four main characters have no place in society if no one is taking care of them or if there is no circus. In a city that has been devastated by conflict, they feel like freaks.