The action takes place in 40-50 years. XVIII century Together with his heroine, an outstanding singer Consuelo, a reader from sunny Venice falls into the gloomy Bohemian forest, walks along the roads of the Czech Republic, Austria and Prussia.

Consuelo, the daughter of a gypsy who did not know her father, is naturally endowed with amazing musical abilities and has a wonderful voice. Hardworking and modest, she becomes the favorite student of the famous teacher-musician Porpora, who, having guessed her true talent in her, gives her lessons for free. The girl’s mother died, and she lives alone; she is patronized by an orphaned boy, Andzoletto, who also has a wonderful voice, but who has neither perseverance nor diligence of Consuelo. Children love each other with pure, innocent love.

Having entered a time of youth, Andzoletto becomes a real handsome man, Consuelo, who was formerly considered a ugly girl, was also extraordinarily prettier. Anzoletto gets used to easy victories - both over women and in the music field. His patron, Count Dzustignani, invites him to his theater. The singing of Andzoletto was welcomed in the salons of Venice.

Almost simultaneously with Andzoletto, Consuelo debuted, after the performance of which everyone understands that she has no equal either in skill or in voice. Consuelo is alien to vanity, envy wakes up in Anzoletto’s soul.

The friendly feelings fueled by Anzoletto for a childhood friend develop into passion. Consuelo agrees to become his wife, but Andzoletto does not want to think about legal marriage, trying to convince her lover that this will interfere with their artistic career. Consuelo agrees to wait. Her whole and clear nature is hated by lies and hypocrisy, while her friend has long been accustomed to cunning and dodging. So now, secretly from Consuelo, he made an affair with the prima donna, the lover of Count Dzustignani Corilla. At the same time, he consoles himself with the fact that Count Zustignani liked Consuelo, which means that he will certainly make her his mistress. Therefore, he, Anzoletto, has the right to recapture his lover from the count.

Corilla more and more falls in love with Andzoletto, arranges scenes of jealousy. Anzoletto is increasingly jealous of the success of Consuelo, accompanying her, wherever she performs - in the temple or on the stage of a comic opera. Count Dzustignani begs Consuelo to give him his love. Faced with the backstage theater so alien to her, Consuelo is horrified and flees from Venice. On the recommendation of Porpora, she goes to the ancient castle of the Giants, located on the border of the Czech Republic and Germany, in order to temporarily become a companion and music teacher of the young Baroness Amalia, the bride of the young Count Albert. Porpora himself is going to leave for Vienna after a while, where his beloved student will come to him later.

The Ispolinov castle belongs to the Rudolstadt family, Czech in origin, but for the sake of saving the heirs of the “Germanized” surname during the Thirty Years War. Since then, the Rudolstadts have been living on their estate, setting an example of faithful Catholics and devoted servants of Maria Theresa. The last representative of this noble and valiant family, the young Albert, the only son of Count Christian, "reached the age of thirty without knowing and not looking for other honor and glory, except that which he had by birth and fortune." To many, Albert’s behavior seems strange: he surrounds himself with people from the common people, tries to distribute as much money as possible to the poor, often has “fits of good sleep”, he confuses years and decades, takes himself for his distant ancestor Podebrad. Before his eyes, pictures from the history of the old Czech Republic continually arise: the battles of the Hussites, the execution of Protestants, the monks hanged on the branches of an oak, the formidable one-eyed Zizka, avenging the scolded honor of his sister Wanda ...

Count Christian and his sister, Cononis Wenceslas, want to marry Albert to his cousin Amalia, with whom he was friendly in childhood. Arriving with her father in the castle, Amalia is weary of boredom, and Albert does not seem to notice her presence at all. Amalia joyfully meets her companion, although she is somewhat disappointed with her dull appearance.

Consuelo makes a great impression on Alberta. Rising from the table, this young aristocrat, dressed in all black, with carelessly hanging hair and a black beard on his tanned face, gives Consuelo a hand, which makes her spin, and Amalia, although she does not like the count, feels a prick of jealousy .

One day, Count Albert disappears. Usually he does not exist for several days, and when he returns, he behaves as if he had been absent for only a few hours. However, this time his absence becomes protracted, the family is in constant alarm. Searches in the vicinity of the castle lead to nothing.

In the courtyard in front of the windows, Alberta Consuelo notices a well with strange muddy water. Watching him, she sees how Zdenko releases water from there and goes down. Following him, the girl discovers an underground passage leading into the caves under the mysterious rock of Shrekenstein.

Consuelo descends into the well, and, wandering through the underground corridors, discovers Albert's refuge. The young count is dreaming - he either calls the girl a scolded sister of Zizka, or his mother Wanda ...

With his sonorous, expressive voice, Consuelo manages to get him out of oblivion, and together they go upstairs. Consuelo asks Albert to promise her not to go into the caves without her.

From the shock experienced in the underground possessions of Albert, the girl falls ill, and the young count, like an experienced nurse, nurses her. When nothing threatens her health anymore, he confesses his love to her and asks her to become his wife. Consuelo is confused: her own heart is still a mystery to her. Count Christian joins in the request of the son.

Suddenly Anzoletto appears in the castle; he impersonates brother Consuelo. After the scandals in Venice, he manages to receive letters of recommendation to Prague, Vienna and Dresden. Upon learning that Consuelo lives in the castle of Rudolstadt, he decides to see her and recapture her from the young Earl, who is rumored to have made her his mistress. Anzoletto threatens to ruin Consuelo’s reputation if she doesn’t open his bedroom door at night.

Girl in despair: she realizes that she can no longer love Anzoletto, but she still does not feel love for Albert. Then Consuelo writes to Count Christian that he is going to Vienna, to his teacher and foster father Porpore, in order to tell him about the Count's proposal and seek his advice. Under cover of night, Consuelo escapes from the castle.

In the surrounding forest, she meets the young Joseph Haydn; he goes to the castle of the Giants to ask for the patronage of the famous Porporina, so that she intercedes for him before the maestro. Haydn feels within himself the vocation of a composer; his music teachers taught him everything that they knew, and now he wants to learn from Porpora himself. Consuelo admits that she is Porporina, and offers the young man to travel together. For greater safety, she dresses in a men's suit.

On the way, they fall into the clutches of the recruiters of the Prussian king Friedrich, and only the courage of Baron Friedrich von Trenk saves them from the soldiers. Staying overnight at the home of the good canon, who loves music, Consuelo is present at the birth of Corilla. The newborn Andzolina, whose father is Anzoletto, the prima donna throws the canon, and herself rushes to Vienna in the hope of receiving an engagement in the opera of Maria Theresa.

Having reached the Austrian capital, Consuelo finds Porpora's home. Knowing the maestro’s capricious disposition, she advises Haydn to come to him as a footman, so that he gets used to him and begins to teach him music himself. Young Joseph follows her advice.

Consuelo performs in Vienna salons, she is accompanied by success. Porpora is proud of her student. However, rumors are gradually creeping around the city that Consuelo is Haydn's lover, for they live under one roof. Empress Maria Theresa, who considers herself a champion of morality and a family hearth, asks about her relationship with Haydn during an audience. The girl replies modestly, but with dignity, thereby causing irritation to the crowned person: Maria Theresa loves to be humbly asked and agreed with her. Consuelo, having heard how the empress extols the morality of Corilla, finally loses respect for the ruler of Austria. As a result, engagement is given not to her, but to Corilla,

Porpora is saddened by the failure of Consuelo. Having learned about the conspiracy of Haydn and Consuelo, as a result of which he began to give lessons to the novice composer, he becomes furious. But the young man had already achieved his goal: he had learned from the maestro everything he wanted.

Consuelo begins to torment the question: why from the castle of the Giants do not answer her letters? Moreover, it follows from her last letter that she loves Albert and is more and more inclined to marry him. True, this letter fell into Porpora’s hands, but he claims to have sent it.

Consuelo increasingly mentally addresses Albert. However, when Porpora informs her of an invitation to perform in Berlin, she happily agrees, deciding that returning to the stage will be a decisive test of her love. In addition, sometimes she flickers the thought that, perhaps, Count Christian was able to persuade his son to abandon an unequal marriage with a songwriter.

Porpora and Consuelo set off. Arriving in Prague, they see on the bridge Baron Friedrich von Rudolstadt, brother of Count Christian. He begs Consuelo to go with him to the castle: Count Albert dies, and before his death he wants to marry her and leave her his fortune. The family begs Consuelo to fulfill Albert’s last wish. Porpora is terribly unhappy, he wants his student to throw this count out of his head. But Consuelo is adamant: she goes to the castle.

Seeing Albert, Consuelo rushes to him: she feels that she loves. But late: Albert had only a few minutes to live. Count Christian claims that Porpora wrote to him that he would never give consent to the marriage of Consuelo with Albert, and "his pupil herself refuses him." "Alas! This dealt a mortal blow to the young count, ”he adds.

Albert and Consuelo forgive the old maestro. The priest performs the rite. "Saved!" Albert exclaims and dies. But, standing near his coffin, Consuelo does not feel the breath of death. “There is no death, Albert! <...> my heart feels it, because now I love you more than ever, ”she whispers. Disconsolate relatives want to leave the girl in the castle, give her the legacy of Albert, but she refuses everything and leaves with Porpora.

In the last lines, the author reports that the most patient can read the next novel about Consuelo's further wanderings and about what happened to Count Albert after his death.