Vanda, Italo, and Cosimo are ten years old and, despite World War II, they still know the pleasure of playing, that they share with their friend Riccardo, who is Jewish. On the day he disappears they decide that they cannot wait: the Germans, who must have taken him away by train, must be made aware that their friend is not guilty of anything. They therefore set out following the railroad. Trying to catch up with them are Italo's brother Vittorio, a Fascist soldier who suffered an injury, and the nun from the Institute for Orphans where Vanda lives.
