The corpse of a man, drowned in the Po, is brought ashore by fishermen, his broken gold-rimmed glasses lying in the mud as his story begins to unfold in a series of flashbacks.
Ferrara, 1938 – Dr. Athos Fadigati, Philippe Noiret, is a middle-aged otolaryngologist with a thriving pediatric practice and a comfortable place in Ferrara’s bourgeois circles. While wandering the streets, he meets Nora, Valeria Golino, the sole daughter of a family friend, and in a gesture of warmth he buys a painting and gifts it to her ailing father. Nora, the last member of the Treves, a once-wealthy Jewish line, loves Davide Lattes, Rupert Everett, a young literature student at the University of Bologna who dreams of becoming a writer. Davide, also Jewish, lives with his parents and his younger sister, and as Mussolini’s regime loosens and tightens its grip, antisemitic measures begin to threaten their way of life. Davide worries when a university professor is dismissed simply for being Jewish, while his father downplays the danger, convinced such things could not happen in Italy. After Nora’s father dies, she takes the reins of his affairs, and her love for Davide grows deeper. One night, after they make love, Nora tells Davide that she loves him for the first time.
Davide commutes by train to Bologna, and Dr. Fadigati makes the same journey twice a week. The doctor soon befriends many of his former patients among the students, though rumors swirl that the bachelor physician might be homosexual—a notion the town doesn’t hesitate to spread. Eraldo, an ambitious amateur boxer from a humbler background, befriends Fadigati, sharing confidences as their bond develops. Abandoned by his father and spoiled by his mother, Eraldo has never experienced a vacation beyond Ferrara, and he lures the doctor toward a seaside retreat with promises of escape from small-town life.
At the Adriatic coast resort, the relationship between the two men becomes a focal point of gossip within Ferrara’s society, especially for Signora Lavezzoli, Stefania Sandrelli, a judgmental yet influential figure. Eraldo quickly shifts his attention to other pursuits, leaving Fadigati to confront the rumors and the social pressure. Davide, seeing Eraldo’s manipulation of the doctor and the vicious tone of Signora Lavezzoli, offers quiet sympathy. Carlotta, a flirtatious but well-meaning friend, accompanies Davide as Nora arrives. At a gala in the local hotel, Nora is invited to dance by a fascist leader, a moment that leaves Davide feeling insulted and excluded. That same night, Eraldo erupts, punching the doctor in the face, leaving him bleeding and humiliated. Back in his hotel room, with Davide at his side, Fadigati discovers that Eraldo has stolen everything he could—an act that shatters the doctor’s reputation and exposes the fragility of his world. The scandal of the hotel becomes a turning point, and Fadigati’s social standing collapses.
Back in Ferrara, the fascist regime tightens its grip on the Jewish community. Davide and all Jewish students are expelled from the university. Nora breaks with him, choosing self-preservation over love by converting to Catholicism and marrying a fascist suitor. Davide is left heartbroken, while Fadigati, now ostracized and financially ruined, loses his clinic and all meaningful connections. He befriends a stray street dog, only to be abandoned by the animal as well. Davide remains the only visitor who still comes to see him, and together they plan a trip to the Po’s riverbank, which rain ultimately prevents. Undeterred, Fadigati sets off toward the shore, walking into the rain and, finally, toward death. The narrative closes with a stark snapshot: Nora marries her fascist lover and dies two years later in childbirth; Eraldo emigrates to France to continue boxing, though with limited success; Davide emerges as a renowned writer; and many members of Ferrara’s Jewish community perish in the concentration camps.
