Maciste, for the first time, suddenly discovers to be in love. The object of his love is Ada, the daughter of Thompson, an enlightened industrialist persecuted by Bethel, a competitor without scruples. He first makes use of a small group of agitators in order to foment the workers, then he tries to affect his loved ones, kidnapping his daughter. But he hasn’t squared things up with Maciste. In Maciste innamorato private and politic life interlace and condition each other. Maciste, a new popular hero, acts in advance of his time and sees himself as a media idol: after punishing the instigators, the crowd will recognize him as a movie star and promptly forget their claims carrying him shoulder-high. A hero, though, doomed to an unhappy love.