Everything takes place in a periphery suspended between metropolis and wilderness, where the only law seems to be that of the strongest: Simone, a former boxer who terrorizes the entire neighborhood.
Marcello, the protagonist, is a small and gentle man who divides his days between work in his modest grooming salon for dogs, love for his daughter Alida, and an ambiguous relationship of subjection with Simone.
After the umpteenth abuse Marcello is determined to reaffirm his dignity: revenge, however, will have an unexpected outcome.