In 1930s Italy, Pasqualino (Giancarlo Giannini), a low-level Sicilian thug, kills a man who disgraced his sister. Pasqualino pleads insanity and manages to escape imprisonment by joining the military, but he decides to go AWOL when things get too heavy. Unfortunately, he soon finds himself stuck in a concentration camp. There, Pasqualino vows to do anything in order to survive — even if that means seducing an obese, female German camp commandant (Shirley Stoler) or ratting out his own pals.