Bari, 1991. Marshal Fenoglio, who has been serving in the capital of Puglia for ten years, is one of the soldiers of the operational unit tasked with investigating the Sacra Corona Unita and in particular the boss Nicola Grimaldi. The marshal and his men are called to solve the case of a certain Sabino Fraddosio, a loan shark killed in his own apartment, as well as dealing with the mysterious disappearance of Simone Losurdo, a boy who was killed by Grimaldi and made to disappear for having sold himself, according to him, to the Saponaro, a rival family. In the meantime, a boy with no criminal record named Paolo Fornelli is arrested for the Fraddosio murder.

The internal feud within the Grimaldi clan continues and one day Damiano, the son of the boss, is kidnapped. Fenoglio and his men soon discover that the child has been kidnapped and try to help the Grimaldis but the boss refuses with disdain. One evening Damiano's body is found in the open countryside.