Growing up in rural Calabria, Italy, during the 50s, Piccolo Santino, at eight years old boy, is enrolled into an apprenticeship with a local carpenter; despite being haunted by childhood traumas that challenge his composure when needing to speak, Santino dreams of becoming a poet. As the family eagerly awaits their Father's reunion in America, with his innocence in the balance, Santino grapples with his Father's absence. The reunion with their Father in America shocks Santino, as he fears that the new Father might be an impostor. The new culture further tests his composure. Father's plans to end the children's education at sixteen motivate Santino to secretly enroll in a correspondence course in art and animation to secure a diploma.