The book's narrator is Arturo, a boy growing up in almost complete solitude in Procida, near Neaples. His mum died whilst giving birth, and he was raised by a local farmer who fed him goat milk. He imagines himself a hero, a knight, a soldier or a pirate, and spends his day swimming, walking around the island with his only friend, a dog named Immacolatella, and reading adventure books. That, and waiting for the return of his father Wihlem, who visits unpredictably, and whom the boys adores. In the eyes of Arturo, Wihlem embodies the qualities of a real man: he is brave, handsome (blond, even!), virile and free-spirited. When Arturo is fourteen, Wihlem brings home a new wife, a Neapolitan girl of sixteen, and Arturo's world changes...

Arturo is a very unlikeable protagonist: misogynistic, arrogant, often crueld. He's also very human, and as such a touch endearing. So that, while the book's atmosphere is almost fantastic - sometimes similar to a fairy tale, sometimes of a classical myths - the realism in Arturo's portrayal is incredibly convincing, almost painful.