Giuseppe goes to see Giorgio to see if he has the power to save the hospital from the new "reforms," but Giorgio has other priorities and rebuffs him.

Michele and Mario are having a hard time. But Michele can't bring himself to paint things he doesn't believe in, even at the risk of going hungry.

Elena goes to see Giuseppe together with little Antonio. She notices right away that the apartment is empty. At the hospital, one of Mussolini's federal agents is visiting and gives Moscati some troubling news.

Prosperino tries to sell Michele's painting of the "boy bitten by a lizard," and attempts to be professional. The three friends get their hopes up, but soon have to face reality. Michele and Mario quickly lose their patience and become belligerent.

Pasquale is a bit heavy-handed in his attempt to manage the collecting of money from the more well-to-do patients and Giuseppe has to step in. He and Nina sell off many of their possessions and Nina has a hard time of it. At the end of a long day, Giuseppe gets a surprise visit

Caravaggio manages to sell one of his paintings and decides to leave d'Arpino's workshop. His friend finds him a room, and he starts working on a painting, now known as"Boy bitten by a lizard".

Elena seems charmed by the orphans and Giuseppe explains to her that love has many pathways. At home, it becomes clear that Nina and Giuseppe have grave financial difficulties. He won't give up seeing patients, but comes up with an idea.

Michele gives one of his works to the girl in the carriage. She is Beatrice Cenci and is chained to her seat. Later, Michele is seriously wounded while loading a piece of art onto a horse-drawn cart.

Elena explains her health problem to Giuseppe and they also clarify some personal things. Giuseppe then takes her to a special place in the city.

After a night of drinking and brawling, Michele is finishing a painting outside the workshop. Baron Cenci shows up and likes what he sees on the easel. The Baron's daughter is in the carriage and exchanges a few words with Michele.

Margherita left a legacy of progress, both scientific and social. Perhaps she is still looking down on us, since an asteroid was named after her: 8558 Hack.

Giuseppe's colleagues want to get Giuseppe away from the hospital because he makes too much "trouble." Giorgio has a suggestion for that.

Caravaggio meets Onorio Longhi, Italian architect and poet, and a bit of a bohemian. Longhi takes him to meet his friend Cesare D'Arpino, who is looking for assistants in his workshop.

Even though Aldo and Margherita were very different in many ways, they came together in their skepticism. Towards the end of her life, Margherita couldn't move around much, but her brain never stopped going.

Arcangelo and Sister Helga don't like each other much, but they have to work together to save the patient. At home, at lunch, Giuseppe has a strange feeling and rushes off.

Caravaggio falls ill and makes the acquaintance of Mario Minniti who becomes a friend to him. He takes him to the hospital of the church of Santa Maria della Consolazione in Rome.

In this segment, Margherita talks about her choice not to have children and also discusses her position regarding God. She can't prove he exists nor can she prove he doesn't.

When Moscati arrives home, he has a huge surprise waiting for him: an endless stream of poor people. At the hospital, Sister Helga catches Arcangelo with a nurse and is furious.

Once in Rome, Caravaggio looks for work in the studios of 2 Italian painters who were well-known at the time. Nobody seems very interested in his work.

We discover that Margherita Hack was a devoted fan of the long-running TV series, Un posto al sole [a place in the sun]. She explains why. Francesca goes back to Trieste and meets up with Eda who talks about having lived in the same house with Margherita Hack.

In the piazza, Giuseppe discusses the war with some colleagues. He then runs into an old acquaintance. Later, in the lab, he talks about science and faith with his professor friend.

Michele goes back home after his mother dies and there, he spends some time with his childhood friend, Costanza Colonna. He tells her about his plans to go to Rome, the artistic center of the universe.

Margherita Hack spent some time in politics and was also an entrepreneur at times. But she had a lot of fun, too. On the panel with Camilleri, the author of the Montalbano stories, they all come out (in unison) with the famous introduction Montalbano sono (Montalbano, I am). Putting the verb at the end is typical of Sicily, where the story takes place. Otherwise, it would be Sono Montalbano (I'm Montalbano) or, on the phone, "This is Montalbano."

As he had promised Cloe, Giuseppe continues to look for her little boy, with little success. Some children he treats aren't really ill, they're just not getting enough to eat. Italy enters the war. Some doctors go to the front, others stay behind.