A swashbuckling epic of chivalry, honor, and derring-do, it is set in France during the 1620s and richly populated with romantic heroes, unattainable heroines, kings, queens, cavaliers, and criminals in a whirl of adventure, espionage, conspiracy, murder, vengeance, love, scandal, and suspense. Dumas transforms major and minor historical figures into larger-than-life characters: the brave d'Artagnan, an impetuous young man in pursuit of glory; the beguilingly evil seductress 'Milady''; the powerful and devious Cardinal Richelieu; the weak King Louis XIII and his unhappy queen--and, of course, the three musketeers themselves, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, whose motto 'all for one, one for all' has come to epitmize the devoted friendship.

The three gifts of M. d'Artagnan the Elder -- The antechamber of M. de Treville -- The audience -- The shoulder of Athos, the Baldric of Porthos, and the handkerchief of Aramis -- The Kings' musketeers and the Cardinal's guards -- His Majesty King Louis XIII -- The housekeeping of the Musketeers -- A court intrigue -- D'Artagnan shows himself -- A mouse-trap in the seventeenth century -- The intrigue grows tangled -- George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham -- Monsieur Bonacieux -- The man of Meung -- Men of the robe and men of the sword -- In which M. Seguier, the keeper of the seals, looks more than once for the bell, in order to ring it, as he did before -- Bonacieux at home -- The lover and the husband -- Plan of the campaign -- The journey -- The Comtesse de Winter -- The ballet of La Merlaison -- The rendezvous -- The pavilion -- The mistress of Porthos -- The thesis of Aramis -- The wife of Athos -- The return -- Hunting for their equipments -- Milady -- English and French -- A procurator's dinner -- Soubrette and mistress -- In which the outfit of Aramis and Porthos is treated of -- All cats are grey in the dark -- Dream of vengeance -- Milady's secret -- How, without incommoding himself, Athos found his outfit -- A vision -- A terrible vision -- The siege of Rochelle -- The Anjou wine -- The inn of the Red Dovecot -- The utility of stove-pipes -- A conjugal scene -- The Bastion St. Gervais -- The council of the musketeers -- A family affair -- Fatality -- Chat of a brother with a sister -- Officer -- The first day of captivity -- The second day of captivity -- The third day of captivity -- The fourth day of captivity -- The fifth day of captivity -- Means for classical tragedy -- Escape -- What took place at Portsmouth Aug. 23, 1628 -- In France -- The Carmelite Convent at Bethune -- Two varieties of demons -- The drop of water -- The man in the red cloak -- Judgment -- Execution -- The Cardinal's messenger -- Epilogue.