The film presents the frustrating adventures of a humble employee, Fantozzi, who is obliged to fulfill the wishes and orders of his bosses.  At the beginning of the film, Fantozzi is charged with protecting Semenzara, a CEO who is cheating on his wife.  CEO Semenzara is a very superstitious gambler and poker player and Fantozzi is chosen to accompany him to Monte Carlo, where he is eventually forced to touch his butt, get stomped on, and drink gallons of water for purely superstitious reasons. Unfortunately for Fantozzi, Semenzara loses all of his money while gambling and ends up blaming Fantozzi for his misfortune, forcing him to return home clinging for dear life to the underside of a train. Fantozzi returns home, totally immobilized by the experience, but is “cured” by Mrs. Pina who applies scalding hot cloths to him, causing him to have the “mystic hallucinations” of St. Michael.

Back in Italy, Fantozzi participates in a bloody hunting trip, during which he shoots himself. Then in Genoa, he is among the participants in the launching of a new ship, but the bottle of champagne crashes on his head instead of on the hull.  Later, invited to a party at the home of aristocrats, he burns his palate with spicy tomatoes and has to defend himself from a terrible Great Dane that chases him all the way to Rome.  Finally after an incredible series of similarly unfortunate incidents, Fantozzi returns to his wife, Pina, and goes back to his usual life as an employee of the company where he is assigned lightning rod duties.