With three of his companions in a fatal gas-station robbery drowned while evading a police roadblock, the surviving young thug has no reason to turn himself in to the police, since they don't know about his existence. At least, that's the way his rescuer Bruno (Bruno Ganz) sees it. Besides, Bruno needs such an overly enterprising fellow to help him pull off a really big heist that he's been planning for a long time. It takes some doing, but the boy and his girlfriend are recruited by the older man, who has been keeping a low profile by working as a gardener.

Bruno (Bruno Ganz) – früher Bankdirektor, heute Gärtner – kann seine Vergangenheit nicht vergessen. Er rettet dem arbeitslosen Stefano das Leben. Um sich an seinem ehemaligen Geschäftspartner Ernesto zu rächen, zieht er jedoch den jungen Italiener und dessen Freundin Maria in seinen teuflischen Plan hinein: ein Überfall auf seine Bank.

Der Thriller spielt in Lugano und ist die erste offizielle schweizerisch-italienische Koproduktion.