The story is set up towards the end of the nineteenth century and takes place among Rome, Ethiopia (the only African country that, in this period, resisted European imperialism) and Eritrea, Italian colonies in Africa.
The main character is "Volto Nascosto", a mysterious Islamic warrior and prophet whose face is covered with a silver mask and who, in the story, leads the resistance of Ethiopian people against foreign invaders.
[citation needed] The characters playing around Volto Nascosto are: As it is clear from this short description, the series has a strong literary inspiration and deliberately merges elements from different genres, from classic adventure to historical novel and nineteenth century feuilleton.
This last aspect is particularly evident not only in the choice of the serial formula, but also in the presence of some typical situations: the love triangle, the sensitive girl with a mysterious past, etc., which directly recall the topoi of nineteenth century novels and operas.
Another interesting feature of the story is the setting in late nineteenth century Italy, a not very well known period of Italian history and an unusual choice for a comic-book series.