Professor Rossini (Merli) has refused to swear his allegiance to the fascist regime and is therefore confined to a small southern island. His living with the other internees, for the most part proletariats, is steeped in confusion and misunderstandings, caused in part by the consideration shown toward the protagonist by the police commissioner. The story outlines an acute, underlying analysis of Italian cultural practices during the fascist period, from class separation to the Church-regime agreement (including the Concordat?s chronological shift). A lucid, politically valuable and well-acted film.