After years of detachment Alberto Valli returns to the home of Margherita, his widowed mother, with his mistress Germaine.

A man and a woman would like to get married, but lack the necessary funds for the traditional "big" wedding. Thus they plan to escape to the countryside and "live in sin".

Based on the Nikolai Gogol story but set in 1950s Italy, "The Overcoat" is the story of a poor city hall clerk whose only desire is to buy a new overcoat.