Pietro Rossi, husband to Anna Rossi and father to Marco and Tonio, resides with his family in late 19th-century Genoa, Italy. He works as a doctor and manages a hospital clinic serving impoverished patients. His dedication to this low-paying profession plunges the family into severe financial hardship, intensified by Italy’s economic depression and oppressive taxes. This strain forces Anna to seek employment overseas in Argentina to sustain the household.

Pietro remains in Genoa with Marco and Tonio. Financial pressures also compel him to send Tonio to Milano for locomotive driver training, leaving only Marco at home after Anna’s departure. Overwhelmed by his hospital duties, Pietro cannot investigate when Anna’s letters abruptly cease. With no other family members available, he permits young Marco to undertake the perilous transatlantic journey alone to find his mother.