This is the story of the unknown poet of a world-famous song. It tells of the friendship between two boys that falls apart when both, driven by the search for justice, take opposite paths: one, Attila, joins the Blackshirts and unhesitatingly embraces fascist ideas; the other, Renzo, sides with the partisans in the Ossola Valley, united with them in the fight against the fascists but viewed with suspicion due to his views on what should happen next in Italy after victory. In a deadly confrontation, Renzo and Attila face each other. Italy is bloodily liberated. The sacrifices demanded by the struggle are also recounted in Renzo's song Bella ciao.