The travels of Primo Levi, a young Italian chemist who journeys through Europe at a time when it's caught between war and peace. It is the diary of his voyage that begins in the dark fogs of Auschwitz. His story continues through the black markets of Katowice, following the movement of the Red Army convoys through a devastated Russia which is, at once, both tragic and comic. Primo is from a group of Italian deportees, along with Poles, Germans, Czechs, Frenchmen, Greeks, Jews and non-Jews alike, liberated by the Russians, set out on the long march back to their homeland. Although he participates in many adventures, Primo never loses his sense of irony. Often finding himself in grotesque situations, he sees how adaptation to life's most trying circumstances can often be comic. Primo's arduous return to Italy is double-edged. Bit by bit, he begins to rediscover friendship, love and his own body. At the same time, his mind is inundated with tragic memories from the concentration camp.