Who is the man of an unkempt appearance who lives alone in the renovated stables of Villa Guelfi, an uninhabited abode in ruins? He spends his days doing nothing, smoking his Tuscan cigar and avoiding contact with anyone. When he notices that a community of girls and boys, dedicated to curing the countryside and the abandoned vineyards, has settled illegally in the villa, he gets nervous and wants to chase them away. They are students, recent graduates, agronomists, and amongst them there is Matilde, who was born there and worked the vineyard as a little girl with her grandfather, Count Guelfo Guelfi. They too are curious about that misanthropic gentleman with the mysterious past: why is he here alone and doesn’t want to interact with anyone? While the seasons change, spring arrives, then summer, and the grapes ripen, the conflict with that community of boys and girls transforms into cohabitation, eventually even turning into an alliance. Adriano will find himself having to look after Countess Matilde, in his brusque way, as she is pregnant with one of those boys.