Antonio is a fallen angel, a rootless chauffeur in Rome, who relates only to the lonely heroes in the pulp science fiction novels he grew up with. Only through a chance encounter with Maria, a woman struggling to hold onto her daughter and her business, does he discover a hope that's been lacking in his detached existence. Antonio is drawn into the suffering of Maria's world, where she draws her inner strength from her fragile solitude. A haunting score, poetic atmosphere and award-winning lyrical performances by the two leads evoke the beauty of a precarious existence