Reality sometimes looks more like a fairy tale. Adele and Marcello were marked by fate at birth: they were born at the same moment on April 16, 1927, delivered by their mothers just a few inches from each other. From that moment on, their lives were destined to intertwine. The narrator is Loris, their few-years-older friend, a witness of their early romance; as children they used to play bride-and-groom inside a small abandoned chapel, swearing eternal love and exchanging rubber rings made from a bicycle innertube. Not long afterwards, though, they are separated by the events of WWII, but their dream will continue, nourished by hope and memories. Their lives run parallel for years, overlapping at times by a destiny that lets them brush close to each other for a few seconds, for a few yards, or for a word or two.