Though orphan Pasquale (Franco Interlenghi) and his best friend, Giuseppe (Rinaldo Smordoni), squirrel away the money they earn shining shoes in Rome, their dream of buying a horse seems out of reach until Giuseppe’s older brother ropes them into a scheme to con money from a local fortune teller. The boys are able to purchase the horse, but end up in a juvenile detention center where they are slowly driven apart by police determined to make one of them talk.