Luchino Visconti co-writes and directs this classic Italian crime drama. After the death of her husband, Rosario (Katina Paxinou) and her five sons move from the poor rural south of Italy to the prosperous northern city of Milan in an effort to improve their lives. However, despite a promising start, their hopes for the future prove futile and when the good-natured Rocco (Alain Delon) falls out with his brutal older brother Simone (Renato Salvatori), over his prostitute girlfriend Nadia (Annie Girardot), a tragic climax appears unavoidable.