The novel is set in Italy during the time of Cesare Borgia, the statesman striving to unite a fragmented country. Sabatini recreates the image of this historical figure: he appears before the reader as a cunning military commander, a far-sighted ruler, a just judge who rewards good and evil deeds accordingly. The listener will find here all the attributes of a classic adventure novel—duels, journeys, intrigues, betrayal, the struggle for power, and, of course, romantic love. The love intrigue: the heroine is forced to marry a hated person for high political reasons, but in the end, after many twists and turns—as genre laws demand—true feeling triumphs.