Niccolò Machiavelli is sent as an envoy of the Republic of Florence by Cesare Borgia. The dreaded prince is about to conquer Italy, and does not care about the Emperor or the King of France. From an episode emerges the magnificent portrait of the Italian Renaissance period. A love intrigue is also interwoven in this out of the ordinary Maugham novel where he sets the stage for Machiavelli's "The Prince" and play, "The Mandrake".
