A woman born in the sea of Naples in 1950 searches for happiness over the long summers of her youth, falling in love with her home city and its many memorable characters.
A seven-year-old boy named Amerigo who in 1946 leaves his impoverished family in Naples and gets on a train to go live with a wealthier family in the north as part of a postwar initiative to rescue children from poverty.
In 1800, at a girls' school in Venice, isolated and supposedly mute domestic servant Teresa discovers the joy that music can bring, teaming up with a group of talented girls.