The narrator and central figure is Filippo Brandolini. He tells the story of his young-adult life--romance and adventure. Filippo joins forces with friends Checco and Mateo to overthrow Giralomo Riario, who rules over and exploits the town of Forli. Giralomo falls, Checco and Mateo fall, ultimately, Filippo is a wreck of a man, living out his life as a monk, and hoping for the earliest available death. The people of Forli demonstrate a conspicuous lack of loyalty. The worst character in the book is the Pope''s representative, Savello, a hypocrite of the first water and a murderer: To coerce Caterina, the widow of the slain Giralomo, Savello is willing, in Caterina''s presence, to hang her innocent children.
