Raoul has best chances to become next boxing champion in light-heavy weight. For a bet he tries to beat through a door with his bare fist. He wins the bet, but his hand is broken, his career ruined. He starts working on a fair; there he meets Hurricane Rosy the first time. When he sees her the next time, she's star of Mike Fernando's women wrestling show. They passionately fall in love, but their their love must survive her rising fame and his violent jealousy
Set in Bertolucci's ancestral region of Emilia, the film chronicles the lives of two men during the political turmoils that took place in Italy in the first half on the 20th century.