Life inside a farm in Italy at the beginning of the century. Many poor country families live there, and the owner pays them for their productivity. One of the families has a very clever child. They send him to school instead of making him help them, although this represents a great sacrifice. The boy has to wake up early and walk several miles to get to school. One day the boy's shoes break when returning home, but they do not have money to buy another. What can they do?