Brancaleone and his followers go to the crusades. God allows them a safe crossing of the Mediteranean. Except that they did not sail on the sea but on a... lake! Brancaleone soon finds himself caught in the middle of a feud between... two popes, Gregory and Clement. In order to determine which of the two men is the true pope, Brancaleone must walk on hot coals. After this ordeal, accompanied by a dwarf, a witch, a leper and a masochistic penitent, Brancaleone continues his quest.In the Holy Land, he fights the unfaithful before facing Death in person. He is eventually saved by Tiburzia the witch who is reincarnated in the form of a magpie