Straccio, a young acrobat, wants to free his beloved Julia, held prisoner in the tyrant's castle. He designs a good plan, and develops it with the help of his three friends, Pietro, Bitonto, and Gatto Mammone. When he thinks he achieved both his ends - overthrowing Fregonese from power, and winning Julia's love - he finds that his countrymen cupidity for the tyrant's gold is more difficult to deal with.
