A family whose mother and wife (Valeria Golino) is very lively, loves people and dogs around her, but is not understood or accepted by the social environment and it's strict rules. She is considered mad and they would like to send her away to be examined by a physician in Milan. The movie describes life in a seaside village (at the isle of Lampedusa) in Italy with it's tribal rules and conventions. It also describes the network of true affection inside the family; it creates a parallel between all these points of view and the symbolic values of life