Rattling Around his dilapidated farmhouse in the Italian countryside, faded composer and socialite Cockroft has only one constant companion: Timoleon Vieta, a loyal mongrel with the most beautiful eyes. But when a handsome but surly individual arrives on the scene, Cockroft is forced to choose between his dog and the new arrival. He abandons Timoleon outside Rome's Colosseum, where the dog begins a long journey home.