Pippo Genuardi, born in Vigàta on 3 September 1856, is a wood merchant. But let's be clear: that is not his main occupation, on the contrary, we could say that his real talent is to get into trouble. Displeased, ironic, a lover of women and technology, Pippo seems to have put his head in place by marrying Taninè Schilirò, daughter of the richest man in Vigàta, but our protagonist is precisely a man who is never actually satisfied. And so, sending three letters to the Prefect Marascianno (a paranoid Neapolitan and conspiracy theorist), sets in motion a mechanism that will lead him to find himself under two cross fires: the State, which thinks it has to do with a dangerous subversive, and the a man of respect Don Lollò, who begins to believe that Genuardi is taking him for a fool. In fact, to obtain the coveted "telephone concession", Genuardi will be willing to do anything: seek the support of his father-in-law, but also of the mafia; bribe public officials and betray his old friend Sasa. All under the eyes of the Quaestor Monterchi, who came from the North, who will observe the insane chain of events with dismay and powerlessness.