Spending a four-year exile in Sicily, Michael is eager to return home to his family in New York, but is told by his father, Vito, to escort Turi Guiliano safely back to America with him.

Michael Corleone – The son of the famed Don Vito Corleone and heir to the Corleone family.

As Guiliano’s fame and reputation increases, Pisciotta gradually feels less and less significant and after much of his advice is ignored by Guiliano, Pisciotta is approached by Don Croce, who convinces him to betray his childhood friend Turi Guiliano. A sly, thin and handsome young man, suffering from tuberculosis, Aspanu Pisciotta was the closest and most trusted friend of Turi Guiliano, who trusted him with his life.

Gaspare “Aspanu” Pisciotta – The childhood friend and cousin of Salvatore Guiliano.

Helped by Pisciotta, theseverely injured Guiliano is taken to the nearby monastery, where the primary priest, A day after the end of the local annual festival, however, while smuggling food and drink to prepare for the wedding of his sister, Guiliano and his childhood friend, Aspanu Pisciotta, are accosted by the corrupt Italian police, the carabinieri, and after being shot by a sergeant, Guiliano kills the sergeant with a single shot from his pistol. Conceived in America and born in the small Sicilian village of Montelepre, Salvatore Guiliano is a tall and handsome young man living a relatively normal life for the first twenty years of his life, loved dearly by his friends and family and the inhabitants of his tiny village, who know him affectionately as their “Turi”.

Salvatore Guiliano – A legendary bandit.

These are the principal characters that drive the plot of the story, many of whom are based on real-life figures. He is a very close personal friend of the Guiliano family, a mentor for Turi, and a man who caters to the Friends of the Friends (the word Mafia is rarely spoken in Sicily) Characters His godfather, Hector Adonis, a small man tormented his entire life for his small stature, was a professor of history and literature at the University of Palermo. He was born in the village of Montelepre, west of Palermo.

The bulk of the novel focuses on the life of Salvatore Guiliano and how he rose to his legendary status as a bandit and hero to the Sicilian people. This novel, though a work of fiction, is based on the real life exploits of Giuliano. In this novel, the spelling of Salvatore Giuliano’s name was intentionally changed by Puzo to “Guiliano”.

The Sicilian by Mario Puzo