Greek Sea, World War II. An Italian ship leaves a handful of soldiers in a little island; their mission is to spot enemy ships and to hold the island in case of attack. The village of the island seems abandoned and there isn't a single enemy in sight, so the soldiers begin to relax a little. Things change when their ship is hit and destroyed by the enemy, and the soldiers find themselves abandoned there.

Young widow Vanessa lives with stepdaughters Kikki and Vivi on island villa. She invites former lover Roberto, now professor, to tutor girls. Tensions arise between Vanessa, stepdaughters, and Roberto in isolated luxury setting.

A boy runs away from home with his dog when his father tries to get rid of the dog, only to become lost on a desert island.

A left-wing intellectual of middle age, with a past in the Italian Social Republic , after the end of the second marriage with a black woman, falls in love with a very young, girlfriend of his son, and with her he flees to the Caribbean. Once the vacation is over, love also ends. In some ways the film is an autobiography of the director.