Italy, 1921. Yacobo Levi, an intellectual dreamer, works in the family bookshop. Angelo Ghione, a contadino, makes good wine by singing to the grapes. Lifetime best friends, their Jewish and Catholic families live side by side amidst a backdrop of village communal life. Born on the same day, their children grow up and fall in love. When the 1938 racial laws are passed, the love between Bella and Rico thrives. When Angelo discovers their liaison he suggests they marry but tensions simmer beneath the surface of love and friendship. When war is declared on the day of Bella's wedding to a fellow Jew, the peaceful village they live in is torn apart, and the Levis find themselves displaced and fighting for their lives.