After WWII has ended, a group of Italian soldiers is languishing in California POW camp number 119. The soldiers are awaiting their repatriation to Italy but their release takes time while the military-administration wheels slowly turn. To make time pass faster, the soldiers listen to news from home broadcast on the radio. The radio carries messages from loved ones back home to all POWs held in American camps. Unfortunately, the radio is old and breaks down often. The American sergeant in charge of the Italians strikes a friendship with them by providing them with new radio lamps to replace the burnt-out ones. It's Christmastime and the POWs have decorated their small Christmas tree. They miss their faraway families despite the mail they regularly receive through the Red Cross. They reminisce about the happier years before the war. The camp commandant, an American captain, provides them with a gramophone and records of Italian traditional folk music collected from many regions of Italy. This allows the men to listen to music from their home region and tell their comrades about their lives back home before the war. The POWs are disappointed by the frequent breakdown of their radio because they don't receive news from home through the airwaves anymore. But one day, the American sergeant brings them a brand-new transistor radio as a Christmas gift.