Marcello Clerici, a young Italian man haunted by a troubling past, seeks to find normalcy and acceptance within society. To achieve this, he joins the Fascist secret police and marries a simple, bourgeois woman named Giulia. As part of his duties, Marcello is assigned to Paris to orchestrate the assassination of his former professor, an anti-Fascist intellectual. The assignment brings him face-to-face with the professor's beautiful wife, Anna, who triggers intense emotions and memories that Marcello has long tried to suppress.

As Marcello immerses himself in this world of political intrigue and personal conflict, he grapples with his own identity and the morality of his choices. The allure of fascism and his desperation for conformity lead him into a labyrinth of deception, confused loyalties, and emotional turmoil. Amidst the artful settings and tense encounters, Marcello's quest for normality becomes increasingly tangled, revealing the deep contradictions within himself and the totalitarian system he serves.