Michele, a young intellectual, enters an existential crisis when, without realizing it, his conception of life comes into conflict with collective morality. The result is a serious neurosis that detaches him from life, from work, from the neighbor. Hospitalized in the clinic, succeeds, recalling the past, to put together the scattered fragments of his personality. However, even the memory of the oppressive mother, the sense of inferiority towards the brother, and the youthful love for the sweet Elena seem to be able to fill the void on which he fell.