Filippo Ferrari and Carmine Di Salvo come from two different backgrounds. The first is from Milan, wealthy and a talented pianist. The second is Neapolitan and belongs to a family of the "system" but, unlike his parents, he has chosen an honest job and his dream is to be a hairdresser. But fate has decided to trip both of them up: Filippo and Carmine find themselves sharing the same cell in a juvenile detention centre in Naples. Filippo, after a night of MDMA at the disco with his friends, finds himself on top of a tower to challenge his best friend in a test of courage. Unfortunately the challenge ends in tragedy and Filippo is accused of murder. Carmine, on the other hand, when one of the boys from the rival clan tries to rape his girlfriend, kills him with hairdresser's scissors.

Carmine and Filippo enter the Juvenile Detention Institute. Carmine knows the rules, while Filippo seems to have landed on another planet. He is immediately nicknamed 'o Chiattillo (The Young Master) by the other boys. Ciro, the boss of the convicts, seems intrigued by Chiattillo and in exchange for his services offers him his protection. Meanwhile, Carmine is brutally beaten up by one of Ciro's henchmen, Pino. Commander Massimo doesn't seem to worry too much: when new elements join a group - already complex in itself - there are always aftershocks. It's in these moments that you have to be vigilant without intervening. The headmistress, Paola Vinci, is not of the same opinion and punishes the boys. Filippo, convinced that the magistrate is about to put him under house arrest, refuses Ciro's protection and does not follow his orders. In response, Filippo is subjected to yet another humiliation at the canteen and reacts by offending Ciro and his henchmen.

A new character enters the prison: Naditza, a regular at WM. Nad has herself arrested to escape the fate her family has decided for her: to marry her in exchange for money to a cousin twenty years her senior. Nad plays the piano like Filippo and makes a bet with the other inmates: within a few days the Chiattillo will drool at her feet. Ciro can't wait to avenge the death of Nazzario Valletta, killed by Carmine, who feels the noose around his neck: everything he wanted to get away from has come true, he is now a prisoner with a death threat on his head. Filippo in prison awkwardly tries to catch up with Ciro and his affiliates, boasting of being there for having committed a crime of honour by killing an infamous man, but when Pino 'O Pazzo discovers that the Chiattillo told a lie for him things get bad.