This novel follows Fabrizio del Dongo, a young Italian nobleman who runs away to join Napoleon's army and arrives at Waterloo in confusion rather than glory. Returning to his homeland, he is drawn into the scheming court of a small Italian principality, where his clever aunt and her powerful friend, a minister, try to protect and advance him. Love, religion, politics and imprisonment all cross his path. Part adventure and part comedy of court life, the book is admired for its warmth, irony and lively sense of how people pursue happiness in a world of rivalry and surveillance.