Milan Italy 1967. Santo Russo a boy of Calabrian origin arrives north with his parents and younger brother to find better living conditions. Due to an absurd misunderstanding and his father's contempt Santo ends up in prison where he gets a “true education.” In 1978 he and his friends Slim and Mario embark on a 15-year criminal career a successful and ruthless spiral of robberies kidnappings murders and heroin smuggling.