Richard “Dickie” Greenleaf is a wealthy, charismatic, and carefree young American expatriate living a seemingly idyllic life in the fictional coastal town of Mongibello, Italy, in the 1950s. He is the son of a wealthy shipbuilding magnate.
The film transports audiences to a sun-drenched 1950s Italy, where the lifestyle of Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) represents the pinnacle of .
Dickie Greenleaf is the embodiment of post-war American privilege transplanted to the Italian coast. He is the "Golden Boy" who refuses to grow up.