Cesare Verra, an aggressive young yuppie, is waiting for an important promotion. The insurance agency where he works, Clessidra, has been bought by a large holding company. Verra is certain he’ll become manager of the Turin agency, but the new owners decide to test him out by giving him a tough assignment: to find the beneficiary for a claim in the company’s archives. On August 29, 1950, Antonio Martello, ex-Resistance fighter, went off the road as he was driving his car near San Benedetto Langhe, his home town. His wife Fulvia died instantly in the accident, which was attributed to a badly-market excavation. Clessindra should have paid a claim of 2 million lire. But 35 years later, the amount has never been collected by the client, though Martello’s lawyer keeps the claim active. Verra sees that there’s a mystery lurking behind the unpaid claim: Martello has been missing since 1951. In San Benedetto no one knows where he is, and his brother Sebastian does not want to supply any information. Vera is told to leave, but driven by ambition and fascinated with country life, he decides to stay on and put together the puzzle.