It is the 17th century in quiet Castile, northern Spain. Giovanni, an orphan at an early age, is brought up with a duke's youngest son on the duke's country estate, where his father, a minor Italian noble, had been the administrator. A combination of his aristocratic environment and his own inferior position, as well as a childhood romance with a bitter end, influence his character. Succeeding in his first ambition, he is commissioned in the duke's regiment in the Spanish Army, which takes him from Northern Italy through Germany to the Low Countries in the battles of the 30-Years War. He distinguishes himself in these but meets misfortune as well as success. Wrongly accused of murder and rape, he has to fight for his life against greed, jealousy and prejudice; in this his loyal friends provide help and support. His romantic engagements begin early and continue lightly, some of them more seriously than others, until one of them results in a fundamental change of his life. A powerful dream provides a thread for him throughout his adventures and seems to lead him on to great heights, but his biggest test comes when he has to face reality in the end.