Pietro, Ivan and their friend Fabio, aka "Cosmic," live in the once-prosperous Po Valley. Post-crisis, this is a vast and alienating landscape of abandoned factories and petty crimes committed by the infamous Candelabra gang. The 19-year olds resist the authority of their parents and their teachers, and resign themselves to a listless fate of foreclosed opportunities. When news breaks of a large asteroid being monitored by the local astronomical station, the boys become convinced that it will collide with earth and destroy mankind.