A hirsute Alain Delon stars as Daniele, a tragically hip poetry and literature professor who travels to Rimini for a four-month teaching assignment with his suicidal wife, Monica (Lea Massari), in tow. During his tenure at the school, Daniele goes out of his way to connect with his students, encouraging them to smoke in class and flirting with the more attractive girls. He spends his free time gambling with locals, and begins an ill-fated affair with one of their barely legal girlfriends, Vanina (Sonia Petrovna)—who also happens to be one of his students. Alida Valli (The Third Man, Suspiria) appears as Vanina’s mother.