Siamo a Roma. I coniugi Gino (ex barbiere) ed Elvira dopo quarant'anni di matrimonio devono separarsi. Uno sfratto li ha privati della casa e ora vivono, uno con una figlia e uno con l'altra, ai capi opposti della città. La lontananza però risveglia in loro sentimenti di affetto e desideri che sembravano sopiti per sempre.

Des problèmes financiers contraignent Elvira et Gino, un vieux couple, à quitter l'appartement qu'ils occupaient. Leurs filles les recueillent, mais chacune d'elles ne peut loger qu'une seule personne. Séparés contre leur volonté, Elvira et Gino se retrouvent à l'occasion de rendez-vous, comme le ferait un couple illégitime.

In this romantic story, a couple (Michel Serrault and Virna Lisi) who have been married for over forty years are forced to separate, one to each of their two children's families, when they can no longer pay the rent on their longtime apartment. Absence, in this case, refreshes their memory of the love they have shared, and they take to meeting one another furtively in hotel rooms for sex and affection. One summer, as each of their daughters families takes them on separate vacations, they have had enough, and elope, finding contentment as lighthouse keepers off the coast of Sicily.