The story of a man driven by guilt to conform to society as much as possible, and the psychological profile of the ultimate follower. Marcello Clerici shot someone as a teenager who had tried to seduce him. The act remains undiscovered, but Marcello is tormented by feelings of guilt. From then on, his entire effort is to prove that he is like everyone else. He becomes a compliant official under the new fascist government. Events take a sinister turn. Marcello becomes an accomplice in a criminal system. "The Conformist" is considered Moravia's masterpiece in Italy. The novel showcases the famous author at the height of his art of psychological unmasking: the murderer in the ordinary citizen. The book was adapted into a film in 1969 by Bernardo Bertolucci, featuring Stefania Sandrelli and Jean-Louis Trintignant.