Salvatore Sansone, an Air Force Colonel and weather man on television retires and decides to enjoy each moment of his newly acquired free time. When his daughter Laura and son in law Marco announce that they want to adopt a baby, Salvatore immediately clarifies his own situation: he is happy for their choice, but has no intention of sacrificing his free time to become a full-time grandad. This all changes radically when more than a year later Salvatore joins his daughter in Ukraine, where Laura and Marco are following up procedures for international adoptions. In a small village, a fortuitous and quasi magical chance meeting occurs between Salvatore and Mariuska a young orphan girl from a nearby orphanage. She immediately and firmly bonds with him. The obvious affection that the girl feels for Salvatore even disturbs the Head of the Orphanage Dr. Kolbach who had always considered Mariuska a difficult child, shut away in obstinate silence and only willing to communicate with her best friend, the small Yuri. Once all the papers are completed for the adoption Laura and Marco return to Italy with the young girl. A second Italian couple, Piero and Valeria adopt Yuri. The two children start their respective new lives with the promise of meeting up again as soon as possible. In Rome with her new family Mariuska rediscovers her smile and becomes a happy and serene girl very quickly. Salvatore never leaves her side now, is constantly made fun of by his old friend Emilio. This old friend reminds him of his obstinate intention, unbelievably forgotten, of resolutely never having wanted to become a full-time hands-on Grandad. Sara, the social worker monitoring the happiness of the girl could not be more satisfied, so much so that she starts coming round to Salvatore’s house only to meet Leonardo, the awkward and romantic neighbour who has been trying to pass his law exams. After a few months of getting used to this new life and surroundings, everything seems to be going well. However, Laura and Marco are involved in a terrible car accident on their return from a brief holiday. After a desperate rush to the hospital Salvatore learns that his son-in-law Marco did not survive the accident, and that his daughter’s condition was very serious. She had to be immediately operated on. After a long and anxious night in the hospital Salvatore learns that his daughter has survived the delicate operation, but still has to survive the next 24 hours to fully be out of danger. Salvatore is in IT, next to his daughter in a coma when she wakes up. She has enough time to plead with Salvatore to look after the future of little Mariuska. The situation worsens and Laura dies. Salvatore is distraught. He cries at the death of his beloved daughter and son-in-law, and meanwhile tells Mariuska that her parents have gone away on a long journey. Salvatore wants to protect the child from any pain more than anything else, and in front of her he manages to pretend that the world is a fantastic place: he tells her colourful stories, of enchanted countries where Happiness reigns. So he is now ready to bring up the little girl by himself as a single Grandad, when suddenly something totally unexpected happens. After the death of Laura and Marco, it is the Juvenile Court that must decide on Mariuska’s future. The judges have to evaluate if Salvatore is now capable or not of looking after the young girl. From this point on Salvatore starts his battle to ensure the best possible future for the girl and to protect her from any pain