Ernesto plot
1911, Trieste, Italy. Ernesto is seventeen and the privileged son of a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish father. But because he has left the family, he is raised by his aunt and uncle. He works for a trading company, but because Ernesto wants to be a violinist, he doesn't take his job too seriously. He is approached by another employee and notices that this man has sexual intentions. Out of curiosity, Ernesto starts a relationship with him. But after an overwhelming (heterosexual) experience with a prostitute, he stops contact. He quits his job and starts taking violin lessons. At a concert he meets Emilio, a fifteen-year-old violinist with a classical beauty. The two boys develop an intense friendship, which is shattered by jealousy and possessiveness.