The film tells the story of Domenico, a young man who forgoes the latter part of his education when his family is in need of money. Applying for a job at a big city corporation, he goes through a bizarre series of exams, physical tests and interviews. During a brief respite from the tests, he meets Antonietta, a young girl who has similarly forgone her schooling when in need of money to support herself and her mother. Through the course of this meeting, they have coffee at a local cafe and shyly discuss their ambitions and lives. Domenico is attracted to her, but they are quickly separated when they land jobs in different departments. Meeting with a superior, he is informed that no clerical positions are available, and subsequently takes a job as a messenger while awaiting a better position. Domenico observes the other employees, at times noting optimistically their kindnesses, and other times the effect of the office gloom on them. Often disappointed in his endeavors to find Antonietta, he sees her one day among two other young men. He does not approach her, but later bumps into her. She invites him to a New Years Eve party held for the workers, which he decides to attend later in the evening. Arriving at the party alone, and becoming aware of his awkward loneliness and Antonietta's absence, he accepts the invitation of an older couple to sit with them. He observes the other youth, dancing and having fun, while he remains silently in the company of the couple. When an older woman asks him to dance, he begins to drink and eventually feel a part of the revels of the party. The night culminates in a simple and free dance in which all the guests participate. Returning to work the following day, he is offered a recently vacated desk of an employee since departed. Before being able to settle into the desk, however, the much older staff around him become disquiet, and complain about the number of years that they have waited to sit at the 'prestigious' desk Domenico has found. He learns that he would have to wait 20 years to sit in the first row of the chamber. He is moved to the back in a dimly lit corner, and, as the film ends, Domenico begins his first day in his "job for life", committing himself to the desperation of a banal career.
