On a turn-of-the-20th-century northern Italian farm, a group of sharecroppers eke out a threadbare existence. A priest advises Batisti and his wife Batistina that their young son Minec should be formally educated, so they sacrifice his help in the fields and send him to school. When Minec's wooden shoe breaks one day, Batisti--in an act of desperation--puts the family's future at risk to replace the clog.

Luigi Ornaghi
as Batistì

Francesca Moriggi
as Batistina

Omar Brignoli
as Minec

Antonio Ferrari
as Tuni

Teresa Brescianini
as Widow Runk

Giuseppe Brignoli
as Anselmo

Carlo Rota
as Peppino

Pasqualina Brolis
as Teresina

Massimo Fratus
as Pierino

Francesca Villa
as Annetta