The Betrothed begins with a short excerpt from a 17th-century manuscript. This, the narrator claims, is an original story so enthralling and fascinating that the “heroic effort of transcribing [it]” (4) was necessary. The narrator investigated the story and now presents this manuscript, plus many edifying and elucidating historical references and footnotes, to the reader as The Betrothed.

The main narrative of The Betrothed begins in November 1628, in a small village near Lecco in Lombardy, Italy. A fretful priest named Don Abbondio walks home along a country path. He encounters two bravi, hired brutes who “attach themselves to some member of the nobility or the gentry” (10). Bravi intimidate, attack, and enforce the will of their employers. Despite numerous attempts to outlaw their behavior, they are commonplace. The armed bravi know that Don Abbondio’s intention is “to marry Renzo Tramaglino and Lucia Mondella” (14) the following day. On the orders of their employer, a powerful local baron named Don Rodrigo, the bravi warn Don Abbondio not to go through with this wedding, otherwise they will kill him. Don Abbondio “was not born with the heart of a lion” (16).