15-year-old Andrea lives in a world of his own, where an innocent friendship with a pretty girl becomes a full-blown romance. He invites her to a motor show in nearby Bologna, but she fails to show up at the bus station. Instead, Andrea is joined by his older sister Stefania–who's planning a runaway with her boyfriend Angelo.

The people of Jerusalem are suffering under the reign of Herod, and are hoping to be delivered from the Roman occupiers by the Messiah whose arrival, it is rumored, is to take place very soon. Unlike his nephew Judas, who wants to join the zealots (freedom fighters), 35 year old widower Joseph is not interested in participating in any fighting against the Romans.