Three well-off young men—former students at Rome’s prestigious all-boys Catholic high school San Leone Magno—brutally tortured, raped, and murdered two young women in 1975. The event, which came to be known as the Circeo massacre, shocked and captivated the country, exposing the violence and dark underbelly of the upper middle class at a moment when the traditional structures of family and religion were seen as under threat.

Lina is about to graduate high school and has her sights set on her future at MIT. But when her mom gets sick, she encourages Lina to follow in her footsteps and have “the summer of a lifetime” in Rome. Using her mom’s old diary as a guide, she explores the romantic and magical city, where she just might find love… and gelato, of course.