Chains

Emilio drives away in a stolen vehicle, but the car soon breaks down. He transports it to Guglielmo, a local mechanic, hoping to fix it and keep moving. This misbegotten start sets the conflict in motion.

Guglielmo replaces the ignition coil while Emilio waits. The repair creates a brief calm before the personal drama unfolds. The mechanic's shop becomes the stage for a long-buried past to surface.

During the repair, Emilio recognizes Rosa, his ex-fiancé. He explains his travels through the United States and Europe before World War II. The encounter stirs old memories and unresolved feelings.

Guglielmo reads in the newspaper that the stolen vehicle was taken in Posillipo and goes to the police to report the robbery. He identifies a man resembling Emilio, but the real Emilio dodges arrest. Meanwhile, Emilio meets Rosa after she drops Tonino at school.

Rosa condemns Emilio for the theft and demands space, but he asserts that fate has tied them together. The tension remains unresolved as they part ways. The emotional threads hint at a dangerous, inevitable reunion.

At a pyrotechnics festival, Emilio encounters Rosa again and is convinced that fate led him to her. The years apart melt as they reminisce their past romance under bright skies. The moment deepens the conflict between desire and duty.

Guglielmo invites Emilio for coffee the next morning to discuss plans to expand his mechanic shop. Rosa's disapproval is clear, and Emilio leaves to avoid further friction. The business talk grows from a professional plan to a source of personal tension.

Rosa confronts Emilio at his hotel, threatening to reveal their affair to her husband. Emilio declares he still loves her, complicating their already tangled relationship. Rosa's resolve wavers as she faces a difficult choice.

Rosa pleads to be left alone, and Guglielmo follows his mother's advice and takes Rosa to Naples for her birthday. The trip is meant as a respite, but the emotional undercurrents linger beneath the surface. The city backdrop intensifies the drama.

Emilio arrives and sits near Rosa at a table, and they reminisce their past romance. Tonino becomes troubled when he sees Emilio holding his mother's hand, highlighting the family tensions in public.

Back home, Tonino disrespects his mother as Rosa receives a blackmail letter from Emilio threatening to reveal their relationship unless she chooses him. Angela alerts Guglielmo's younger daughter, and he finds the letter in their cabinet. The family is pulled into a crisis.

Rosa arrives at Emilio's hotel, pulls a handgun but cannot shoot him. Emilio forces himself on Rosa until Guglielmo arrives, locks Rosa out, and shoots Emilio. Guglielmo sails for America, while Rosa leaves her children with Anna, his mother.

In America, Rosa learns that Guglielmo faces thirty years for premeditated murder; she claims innocence regarding adultery. She hands the attorney the blackmail letter, suggesting that a confession could turn the case into a crime of passion. The legal battle unfolds as the stakes rise.

The trial proceeds and Guglielmo is found not guilty, having acted in self-defense. Rosa's reputation is damaged, and she contemplates suicide, but Guglielmo prevents her. They reunite with their children, choosing to face the future together.