The Horseman on the Roof

In Aix, July 1832, a band of Italian patriots sheltering from Austrian agents is betrayed by one of their own. Giacomo is dragged away and executed, while the others scramble to flee. The event casts a grim shadow over the resistance from the start.

As Austrian agents close in on Angelo's apartment, he slips into the countryside and resolves to take up arms for his homeland. He fights his way clear, resisting capture and embracing the danger ahead. The escape marks the beginning of his dangerous mission.

In Meyrargues, Angelo searches for his childhood ally Maggionari and discovers the resistance funds are not easily accessible. He writes a heartfelt note to his mother confessing how often he flees with little chance to prove his mettle. The mood is tense as he contemplates the risks ahead.

Austrian agents descend, and Angelo resists with grit, delivering blows and breaking free into the open country. He fights through the pursuit, leaping rooftops and evading capture. The chase underscores the danger as he continues toward Milan.

The next day, Angelo traverses a plague-ridden village scarred by a cholera epidemic. He witnesses abandoned corpses and burned funeral pyres that render the landscape grave and quiet. A country physician teaches him how to treat cholera victims by rubbing alcohol into the skin.

Moving north, Angelo passes through plague towns and meets a compassionate young woman traveling with two children. She offers him a copy of Rinaldo and Armida as a parting gift before he continues toward Manosque.

In Manosque, Angelo is seized by a paranoid mob who accuse him of poisoning a fountain. He is taken to the authorities and clashes with Austrian agents, leaping between rooftops to avoid capture. He witnesses the agents pursued and later sees piles of corpses burned in the night.

Seeking shelter from the rain, Countess Pauline de Théus discovers Angelo and offers him food and safety. He explains himself as a gentleman, but in the morning she has vanished, leaving him to continue his journey alone.

Angelo joins the town's forced evacuation and learns from Giuseppe that money for the resistance lies with him but is blocked by quarantine and roadblocks. He agrees to deliver the funds to Milan by backroads, accepting danger to keep the cause alive.

Along the backroads, Angelo confronts Maggionari again, who tries to kill him before succumbing to cholera. The encounter tests Angelo's resolve and marks another brush with mortality.

The couple's paths cross again as Pauline reappears and accompanies Angelo on a daring river escape. They head north toward a castle near Gap, choosing a mission that aligns with Angelo's duty and their growing bond.

Their journey continues through country lanes and plague towns while avoiding capture. They reach the castle at Théus, where Pauline's husband Count Laurent de Théus greets them, and Angelo departs to return to Italy to continue the revolution.

One year passes and Pauline returns to Aix, still haunted by the cholera's toll and the memory of Angelo. She searches for the old house near the Bishop's Palace, hoping for a sign of his presence.

A second year passes before a distant castle receives a letter from Angelo. Pauline reads the letter alone, standing at the edge of Aix and gazing toward the snow-dusted Alps and the Italian frontier, where the memory of Colonel Angelo Pardi endures.