Isabella Merafino

A 10-year-old boy is in the car with his Roman and Romanist father. They are late because the derby is about to start, but first they have to go to a place. The child is dressed in a fluttering blue miniskirt and a cape like a superheroine. They arrive at the supposed show. Ettore begins to sing a song with female movements, but after a few bars, he is interrupted. He is not in school, but in a room of a pediatric hospital and in front of him there is a friend of his who is taken to the operating room.

In Rome it hasn’t rained for three years and the lack of water is overturning rules and habits. Through the city dying of thirst and prohibitions moves a chorus of people, young and old, marginalised and successful, victims and profiteers. Their lives are linked in a single design, while each seeks his or her deliverance.

The owner of a dilapidated B&B has an idea: in order to dodge bankruptcy, he has to turn his business into a place of worship—a tax-free activity, where he'll host pilgrims in exchange for a generous donation. He joins forces with an unscrupulous accountant and a failed novelist to come up with his new religion.