Two young men, Encolpius and Ascyltus, are in love with an effeminate boy named Giton. Ascyltus ‘steals’ Giton from Encolpius and sells him to Vernacchio, an actor of vulgar pantomimes. Encolpius manages to take Giton back, and they hid in a palace inhabited by depraved people. Giton - who is allowed to choose one of the two young men - prefers Ascyltus. Encolpius intends to commit suicide, but he’s saved by an unexpected earthquake. Encolpius meets an old poet called Eumolpus, who takes him to the court of Trimalchio, a freed man, where a wild and decadent party is taking place. At the Villa, Eumolpus is heavily beaten, and Trimalchio takes his guests to the tomb where he will be buried. Encolpius is enslaved and meets Giton, and Asciltus on pirate Lichas’ ship, a middle-aged merchant working for the Emperor. Giton is obliged to make sex with a young girl while Encolpius, after having been defeated by Lichas in a Greco-Roman wrestling match, marries her. We continue to follow Encolpius through a series of adventures: he becomes impotent and is cured by Enotea’s Holy Fire, and then he’s forced to fight against the Minotaur. When Ascyltus is murdered, Encolpius decides to board Eumolpus' ship, that is bound for North Africa. When Eumolpus dies Encolpius refuses to eat his corpse, and thus gives up the possibility of becoming his heir.