A documentary on Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (May 3rd 1469 -- June 21st 1527) author of a short political treatise, iL Principe (a.k.a. The Prince) written in 1513 and addressed to the ruling power at the material time, but not published until 1532. The documentary depicts the treatise in general with thoughts by Henry Kissinger, Gary Hart and Robert Harriman amongst others and is a controversial study on the Art of Politics which contemporaries have dubbed The Common Sense of Politics.
In 1512, de Medici was restored to power and Machiavelli, a Florentine public official, fell from his favor and was exiled to the countryside. In exile he wrote the treatise and presented it to de Medici, hoping to regain favor, but his effort failed.