In an Italian province of Calabria. Here we meet Marcello, his brother Paolo and their father, who have lost everything except hope of a better life on the other side of the Atlantic in America, where their uncle had emigrated to the year before last. Leaving their homeland and memories behind, Paolo and Giancarlo set sail for the New World. During their voyage, Marcello meets a daring orphan from Naples by the name of Antonia who will constantly lend him courage through thick and thin.