Giuseppe Garibaldi is a modest librarian in a small town in Lombardy. He loves to read and transmit culture to children, despite the library's lack of funds. Meanwhile, in Rome the President of the Republic is forced to resign, and none of the political leaders can agree on a president to elect. As a result the party leaders all chose to vote for a historical figure as a protest vote. However unintentionally they all end up electing "Giuseppe Garibaldi". When the vote is confirmed the party leaders are in shock and want to immediately nullify the vote. The only problem is that there is an eligible citizen with that same exact name so by law he had to become president. That man was Giuseppe Garibaldi the fisher. The leaders wanted him to resign but when he refuses to they instead try to make him a puppet president. Once Giuseppe becomes president, he immediately notices the cruel world of Italian politics. Giuseppe, friend of the people, begins to do many good works, earning the popular support. Meanwhile, the leader of the center-right party wants to defeat him.