A Telepiemonte journalist, Giulio Guala, is awakened one morning by a phone call from a "deep throat" warning him to rush to the airport for the arrival of Celeste Cucchi, a famous pasta industrialist.

On October 9th, 1963, at 10:39 pm, 260 million cubic meters of rock fell down from Mount Toc to the artificial lake formed by the Vajont dam, the higher dam in the world. The landslide formed a 250-meters wave and 50 million cubic meters of water completely destroied all the below towns, killing more than 2000 people. Planned by engineer Semenza, Vajont dam (263 meters) had to carry the electricity in all the houses of the country. Tina Merlin, a journalist from 'L'Unitá', tried for years to denounce the danger to build a dam near the Mount Toc and expecially to denounce all the omissions by the corrupted politicians and workers in charge of the dam construction. They preferred to trust in old geologist Dal Piaz instead to hear engineer Semenza young son's alarming analysis. No one seemed to understand the high danger until that October fatal night.

The Merchant (Harvey Keitel) is a Westerner. A merchant dealing in precious stones from Afganistan and Turkey. He's above suspicion. In truth, the "Stone Merchant" is a Christian convert into Islam. He's rich, cultured, fascinating. Leda (Jane March) is a successful woman who works as Head of the Public Relations for a big company. She's married to Alceo, a professor at the Sapienza University, specialized in the history of terrorist movements. Alceo is on a wheel chair. He lost his legs in the attack to the American Embassy in Nairobi in 1998. Shahid is a terrorist. Now he's planning an attack along the English Channel. Their lives, their destinies cross in Turkey, where Leda and Alceo are on holiday. And the plot will go on to Rome and Turin till the epilogue of the attack on the ferry boat.

The life of Primo Carnera a.k.a. "Ambling Alp", Italian professional boxer and the World Heavyweight Champion from June 1933 to June 1934, but also accused by some of having ties to the mob.