Trieste, 1920. Mattia is a fascist from the very beginning. His face is still beardless, which is why he is called Bambino, but his blows are so hard that half the city is afraid of him. Mattia doesn't know who his mother is. Even one from over there? A Slovenian? His father, the anti-fascist and watchmaker, doesn't want to tell him. In the mud and dirt of the Second World War, Mattia finally loses all certainties, and he has to learn that today's winner can be tomorrow's loser.