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.
