An elderly, venerable illustrator agrees, at the request of his daughter, to look after his grandson while she and her husband participate in a scientific conference. He is over seventy, he lived alone for many years, devoting himself entirely to work. The four-year-old grandson, a cocky fidget with a sharp tongue, is growing up to be a little dictator. They only saw each other twice, but now they will be forced to spend three whole days together. In the ongoing confrontation between the passing past and the coming future - with skirmishes, temporary truces and not always funny pranks - life in all its diversity is reflected in a mirror. In a short but highly emotional story, Domenico Starnone continues his meticulous exploration of the phenomenon of family life - with compassion and irony that makes the reader smile even when it comes to the dark sides of human nature.