Sicilian dockworker Mimi inadvertently becomes embroiled in an increasingly complicated array of personal conflicts. When he loses his job after voting against a Mafia kingpin in an allegedly secret election, Mimi leaves his wife to find new employment. He moves to Turin, where he engages in an affair with a Communist organiser. Soon, Mimi finds himself juggling two demanding relationships while plotting revenge against the corrupt forces that ruined his life.