A rural gentleman, driven mad by chivalric romances, declares himself a knight-errant and, with his practical squire, undertakes a series of misadventures in which everyday people and objects are transmuted by his imagination into heroic tests. Episodes range from comical clashes with windmills and inns to stories-within-the-story that introduce other melancholic or comic figures, alternating satire and tenderness while exploring themes of illusion versus reality, friendship, folly, and the human longing for meaning beyond ordinary life.