By looking at the rings in an old nut tree that has been cut down, an old Swiss peasant, Rocco Canonica, remembers the happy and the sad moments of his long life and those of his family. Everything has changed in the little community where he lives but Rocco is not discouraged. The film was shot in Verzasca Valley and is based on a long story called Spaetholz by the Bernese writer Wlather Kauer.