Teenage obsessions clash with the brutal pressures of competitive training, when a team of young gymnasts compete in an elite tournament. Friendships are tested, rivalries flare, and some will do anything to win.

American sailor Dean Barry, 23 years old, lands in Naples in 1944. Dean develops feelings for native Lucia, with whom he has a son. Dean is compelled to leave them but finally returns to see his family again, in an changed city.