Calabria, 1948. Salvatore travels to Belgium to work as a coalminer leaving his family - including his spirited 10-year-old son Rocco - to enjoy the warm Italian life. After a year, Salvatore summons them. When Rocco arrives in Waterschei, his excitement turns to disappointment: the immigrants are housed in miserable barracks; he doesn't speak the language; people are distant; the weather is cold and... they are still poor. He tries to adapt, but it is not until he realises he must follow his dreams that he starts doing what he does best: playing music.