In the opening pages of this classic of 19th-century universal literature, the impending marriage between Renzo and Lucia is suddenly threatened by Don Rodrigo's desire and the brute force of his henchmen. The interruption will give rise to a series of always unexpected events, in which several memorable characters will intersect in the destinies of the engaged couple, who experience firsthand the tensions of a time and place: the 17th-century Milan region, marked by famine, plague, the Spanish occupation, and the inability of the law and its representatives to dispense justice.