The small Italian town of Cortenza is home to Beppe Arpino, a boy blessed with poor posture and chronic insomnia. Under the paternal eye of Father Vicenzo, the local priest, Beppe develops a passion for teeth and, after the priest's death, heads to Naples to pursue a career in dentistry. There he finds a mentor in the eccentric Dr. Puzo and love in Angelina. But a trip to Rome to fulfil Dr. Puzo's dying wish threatens to cost him Angelina.