In the eighteenth-century Rome, Don Pasquale Corneto, wants his young nephew Ernesto, dedicated to a wasteful social life, to marry a rich spinster, both to save on the expenses of his maintenance and to increase the family heritage.

Everything unfolds in Naples seventeenth century, when a mysterious masked swordsman who calls Salvador Rossa becomes champion of the needy and lonely struggle against the cruel tyrant that frightens the country.

Called to perform at the Scala, a young baritone begins a transatlantic romance with a famous pianist. The singer, having been skewered by a critic after his last performance in Milan, attempts to find a way to win over the audience and the critics, while wooing his love interest.

Cipriano Duval is an Italian who has emigrated to Paris, where he works in a pediatric clinic as a nurse.

The title refers to a character named Pompeo Quarantini; an attorney tries to prevent marriage between an heiress and a musician, but without success.