Antonio Barozzi moves from Lago Maggiore to Rome to become an actor. He does not realize his agent and acting coach are only manipulating him to further their own careers.
Symphonie mixes fiction with reality. The author, Romain Schneid, tells the story of his own claustrophobia in front of the camera when, when he was 12 years old, hiding as a Jew during the German occupation, he could not leave a tiny apartment.
Felipe goes home for a holiday and discovers that everything in town has changed in his absence; old don So-and-so is running around forcing people to sell their farms to him and killing them if they refuse.
The wealthy doctor Shashikant marries a servant girl, the much-loved Gauri. When an old flame makes makes contact with Shashikant, pride jeopardizes their marriage and the lives of their children.
Yoko is upset when her father remarries and begins rebelling against her new stepmother. First, this is accomplished by promiscuity and partying but eventually her schemes take a much darker turn.
A small-town bar, open only from 9AM to 3PM and owned by Buck (Earl Holliman), is the setting where bored housewives and wandering husbands go to find some adventure in their miserable lives.