The film tells the story of Mattia Pascal, inept small farmer in a town in northern Italy who decides to groped your luck at the casinos in France. Won the money, he decided to leave the boring family, but discovers that an individual reading a newspaper with the same name has died mysteriously. Convinced that this is a perfect opportunity to make up a new life, Mattia Pascal decides to change his identity, calling himself Arturo Meis. He moved to Rome after many trips in the family Paleari, Mattia Pascal goes to meet his fate.