Synopsis

Timoteo is a young boy born and raised in the House of Good Will, a sort of brothel where many young women live, most beloved by them, and whose cook, Fra Gaetano, is the closest thing he has to a father. From him, Timoteo learns the magnificent stories that constitute his main education, the adventures of bandits and outlaws—the calcagnanti—driven by the noblest of ideas: fighting injustice and the abuses of the rich and powerful. He dreams of becoming one of them when he grows up, and ending up on the gallows as a hero. The opportunity soon arrives. Timoteo discovers a body in the canal. The cruel Baron Raimondo has Fra Gaetano arrested and condemned to death, accused of the murder. Timoteo, also a wanted man, is saved by the women of the house, but is then forced to flee and join the gang of the calcagnanti. An adventure novel, a coming-of-age story, and an anarchic fairy tale, The Walkers reminds us how important books, shared stories, and the "irregulars" we meet along the way are to our growth and learning to oppose, neither alone nor unarmed, the arrogance of power.