Milan, 1640. At the height of the Thirty Years War, the twins Albrizzi, Ippolito and Ferrante, are the heirs of their own family, both in love with the same woman, Livia Cornero, daughter of Count Cornero, a trusted man of the King of Spain and bitter enemy of their family. When the feud between the two families ends up leading to the death of the patriarch of the Albizzi and the ruin of the family, Ippolito by mistake ends up shooting Livia, apparently killing her. Shortly thereafter, before the two brothers can fight in a duel, the guards sent by Cornero arrive and arrest Ippolito, while Ferrante manages to escape.

From that moment on, their lives are separated: Ippolito, escaping the death sentence and forced labor, after being arrested by the French is forced to choose between the gallows and becoming a spy, thus changing his name to Alexandre Du Bois and placing himself at the service of Cardinal Richelieu. Ferrante, on the other hand, after a series of vicissitudes, ends up in the Caribbean Sea, where, with the new name of Malasorte, he joins the crew of the ruthless and charismatic pirate Coda del Diavolo, of which he will first become the Second and, subsequently, the heir.