Rome, the 1970s : Guido is a handsome avant-garde artist rambling around his studio in the company of beautiful young models. His devoted wife, Serena, does her best to support his art but can't help being jealous and angry. When an attractive middle-aged gallery owner gets Guido the show of his dreams, Serena begins a friendship with her and they go together on a feminist retreat in the South of France. The show panned by the critics and his wife pulling away from him lead Guido to reflect on his failures. All the while, their sons are there to observe and react: Those Happy Years, when they watched their parents finally grow up.