Through careful and meticulous archival research conducted at Italian, English, and American institutions, Villani passionately and meticulously reconstructs a vast and varied world, made up of different characters. Alongside some individuals who are motivated by a sincere desire to reform the Roman Church, other men emerge, including spies and libertine priests, who operate on the margins of legality in search of profit and fame, sometimes resulting in their repentance and return to the Catholic Church in their final years. It is a captivating story also for Villani's ability to follow the individual histories with extreme precision, reconstructing their religious and cultural journeys.