Against the backdrop of extreme poverty in the late-1940s fishing village of Aci Trezza, the Valastros, an impecunious family of working-class fishermen, struggle to eke out a living. Refusing to bow down and accept this dire situation lying down, the desperate 'Ntoni Valastro summons up the courage to cut out the rapacious middlemen and buys a small fishing boat after mortgaging their decrepit house. However, fate has other plans, and the results of 'Ntoni's middleman-free enterprise are disastrous. Who can stand on his feet when the Earth trembles?
—Nick Riganas