四位不同导演拍摄的四部短片，讲述现代生活的原则。

1970 film by Alberto Lattuada

1959 film by Mario Soldati

一位中年、略显保守的商人遇到了一群喧闹的青年，并迷上了一个名叫弗朗西斯卡的女孩。他被说服参加了他们的聚会，甚至支付了大部分费用，因为他发现自己对弗朗西斯卡有一种奇怪的吸引力，她似乎与他完全相反。

Walter Ferrari is an Italian soccer coach fired on the eve of the playoffs by club President Di Carlo.

Italy 1973. Giuseppe Tritoni (Ugo Tognazzi) is an ultra-right-wing congressman that doesn't agree anymore with his fascist party policy. He contacts many Italian Army officers and built a net of relationship in order to organize a Coup d'Etat (Golpe). Something goes wrong and the Interior Minister (Home Secretary) Mr. Li Masi (Lino Pugliesi) got the all information about the attempted Golpe. So the Minister organizes a counter-Golpe. Tritoni desperately, to save his project, kidnaps the Italian Republic President (Claude Dauphin) that immediately dies for heartache. Now Minister Mr. Li Masi is free to lay down the law to the rest of the country, realizing basically the actual Golpe! Tritoni surrenders and will spend rest of his time trying to sell his ideas about managing Golpe in Africa!

1870年，当时由教皇统治的罗马被意大利将军拉马莫拉的军队占领。停战后，意大利士兵阿方索杀死了教皇的一名士兵，唐·普罗斯彼罗的儿子。随后，他在唐·普罗斯彼罗的家中寻求庇护。在那里，康斯坦萨和奥林匹亚，分别是唐·普罗斯彼罗的妻子和女儿，爱上了他。然后古斯塔沃，他知道阿方索杀了唐·普罗斯彼罗的儿子，来到了房子里。。。有些事情即将发生。

50岁的Giulio（Tognazzi饰）和他17岁的教女Vincenzina（Muti饰）疯狂地爱上了对方，很快就结婚了。不幸的是，朱利奥在旅行归来时偶然撞见了他的朋友和文森齐纳。他的嫉妒和愤怒战胜了他，他把妻子赶出了家门。几年过去了，Giulio决定重新点燃与Vincenzina的恋情。

A businessman is nicknamed "L'avvocato" and his driver, Oscar, is a yes-man. When L'avvocato has a crash while driving his car, Oscar is put in jail in his place. When Oscar gets out, he finds himself married to the beautiful Maria, but he can't even touch her: she is l'avvocato's lover. Afterwards Oscar is appointed manager, but he can't manage a dime. At the end he shall find himself again in jail, hoping that his "sissignore" (yessir) will let him have, sometime, a driver to send to prison in his place. —

Luciano Bianchi lives with his wife and son in the small town of Guastalla. As an intellectual and bibliophile, he works as head of cultural initiatives at a mining plant.