Barbara and her mother appear decidedly more serene, and Barbara seems ready to start over. Meanwhile, at Rosario's house, his parents try to reassure him in anticipation of the meeting with his birth mother.

Everyone is gathered to bring in the New Year, when, amid the exchanging of greetings, the police commissioner makes his entrance, surprising everyone with an unexpected announcement.

Paolo is worried about the future and dissatisfied with his job at Cosider. Maura is by his side and together they decide to go to Rome to see how things evolve.

Roberta, annoyed by Gaetano's behavior and the presence of the boy, decides to go home. Meanwhile, Camilla and Susy ask one of the students to trace the address from which Tucci sent the email, while Gaetano and the team listen to a wiretap and then head out to the source of the call.

Irene becomes furious with Luca when she discovers that he is obsessively following and controlling Marco, while she does busy work in a shop to distract herself from her own thoughts. Meanwhile, Barbara arrives at the new school and Sara goes to the school director with a particular request.

It's almost midnight, and everyone goes out on the terrace to drink a toast and enjoy the fireworks while Pisanelli remains alone inside. His attention is caught by something on the TV screen.

Paolo enjoys great success during his performances in Rome. The newspapers praise the brilliance of his comedy and, finally, he decides that the time has come to resign from Cosider.

In Fregene, Berardi and Torre discover that Camilla and her friend Susy are there, too, on Tucci's trail. Ferrari and Piccolo follow Sabrina to a luxury villa, also in Fregene!

In class, Barbara recites a Petrarch sonnet, proving to be much further ahead than her classmates in the curriculum. In reaction, the teacher decides to assign double the homework for all her students. Meanwhile, Sara continues her battle, trying to convince Marioni to give her the chance to play. For more about this sonnet and a paraphrase, see this article. See also this Yabla lesson.