The story
happens in Northern Italy, during the 14th century. A Franciscan monk called
William of Baskerville and his novice Adso of Melk arrive at an abbey where a
mysterious death has occurred. They investigate the death and they arrive to
the conclusion that the dead has committed suicide. After that, other mysterious
deaths happen. William and Adso meet Salvatore a strange man that seems to be
the guilty of the deaths. Adso also meets a girl, they have sex and he falls in
love with her. During the investigation, the two protagonists discover a hidden
library in the tower that contains forbidden books. One of these books is the
Aristotle's Second Book of Poetics.
All the people that have read the book had died. Then, the Inquisition arrives
to condemn the offenders. The Inquisition blames Salvatore and the girl because
they think that they are in league with Satan. After the judgement, William and
Adso go to the hidden library to find the forbidden book. There they find the
Venerable Jorge who has poisoned the pages to stop the spread of what he
considers dangerous ideas. Then starts a fire in the tower and they achieve to
leave, but Jorge dies burned. Meanwhile, Salvatore and Remigio have been burned
at the stake but the girl escapes from
the fire. Later, William and Adso leave the abbey and the novice will always remember
the girl who was the only love of his life.


