Vito Andolini was twelve years old when his father was killed, who did not get along with the Sicilian mafia. Since the mafia also hunts for his son, Vito is sent to America. There he changes his surname to Corleone - according to the name of the village where he came from. Young Vito goes to work at the grocery store Abbandando. At eighteen, he marries, and in the third year of marriage he has a son, Santino, whom all affectionately call Sonny, and then another - Frederico, Freddy.

Fanucci, a gangster who extorts money from shopkeepers, puts Vito in place of his nephew, leaving Vito out of work, and Vito is forced to join his friend Clemenza and his accomplice Tessio, who arrange raids on trucks with silk dresses, otherwise his family will die from hunger. When Fanucci demands his share of the proceeds from this, Vito, having carefully calculated everything, calmly kills him. This makes Vito a respected man in the quarter. Fanucci's clientele moves on to him. In the end, he bases a trading house on the import of olive oil with his friend Genko Abbandando. The shopkeepers who do not want to stock up on their oil are occupied by Klementsa and Tessio - warehouses are burning, people are dying ... In the days of prohibition under the guise of a trading house, Vito is engaged in smuggling alcohol, after the abolition of prohibition, he switches to gambling. More and more people are working for him, and each Vito Corleone provides a comfortable life and protection from the police. The word “don” is beginning to be added to his name, he is respectfully called the Godfather.

Time passes, Corleone already has four children, in addition, a homeless orphan Tom Hagen is brought up in their family. Sonny begins to work with her father at the age of sixteen - first as a bodyguard, then as the commander of one of the armed mafia squads along with Clementza and Tessio. Later, Freddie and Tom enter the family business.

Don Corleone is the first to understand that it is necessary to take not shooting, but politics and that in order to protect his world from government interference, criminal groups in New York and throughout the country should stick together. His efforts at a time when the outside world was shaking the Second World War, within the criminal world of America - calm and complete readiness to reap the fruits of the recovery of the American economy. Only one thing saddens the Don - his youngest son Michael rejects his father's care and volunteers for the war, where he reaches the rank of captain, and at the end of the war, again without asking anyone, he leaves the house and goes to university.

Actually, the action of the novel begins in August 1945. The only daughter of Don Constance - Connie - is getting married. Don Corleone does not really like his future son-in-law, Carlo Rizzi, but he appoints him to the position of a bookmaker in Manhattan and ensures that the police reports drawn up on Carlo in Nevada, where he used to be, were seized. Faithful people at the same time deliver information to the Don about legal gambling houses of Nevada, and the Don listens to this information with great interest.

Among other guests at the wedding comes the famous singer Johnny Fontaine, he is also the godson of Don. Johnny did not have a life with his second wife, his voice disappears, trouble with the film business ... He is brought here not only by love and respect for the Corleone family, but also by the confidence that the Godfather will help solve his problems. Indeed, Don arranges that Johnny is given the role for which he subsequently receives an Oscar, helps with family affairs and lends enough money for Johnny to become a film producer. Fontaine's paintings are wildly successful, and the don makes big profits - this person knows how to make a profit of everything.

When Don Corleone is offered to participate in the drug business together with the Tattaglia family, he refuses, because this contradicts his principles. But Sonny was quite interested in what was not hiding from Solozzo, who transmitted this offer to Corleone.

Three months later, an attempt is made on Vito Corleone. The killers manage to escape - the weak-character Freddy, replacing the bodyguard of the don, is numb, he can not even pull out the machine.

Meanwhile, the people of Solozzo are seizing Hagen. Having told Tom that Don Corleone has been killed, Solozzo asks him to become a mediator in negotiations with Sonny, who will now become the head of the family and will be able to sell drugs. But here comes the news that, despite five bullets, the Godfather remained alive. Solozzo wants to kill Hagen, but he manages to trick him.

Sonny and Solozzo begin endless negotiations. At the same time, Sonny “compares the score” - the informant Solozzo dies, the son of Tattaglia is killed ... These days, Michael considers it his duty to be with his family.

One evening, going to the hospital, Michael discovers that someone recalled the people of Tessio guarding the don’s ward. So Solozzo is coming to kill his father! Michael quickly calls Sonny and takes a position at the entrance to the hospital - to hold out until his arrival. Here comes the police captain McCloskey, bribed by Solozzo. Enraged that the operation failed, he breaks Michael's jaw. Michael demolished this without attempting revenge.

The next day, Solozzo reports that he wants to enter into negotiations through Michael, because he is considered a harmless weakling. But Michael is filled with cold hatred for his father’s enemies. By agreeing to negotiations, he kills both Solozzo and captain McCloskey accompanying him. After that, he is forced to flee the country and hide in Sicily.

The police, avenging the murder of the captain, suspends the profitable activities that are committed in violation of the law. This causes loss to all five families in New York, and since the Corleone family refuses to extradite the murderer, a civil war begins in the underworld of 1946. However, when Hagen tries to discover that McCloskey was a bribe taker, the thirst for revenge in police hearts subsides and pressure from the police ceases. But five families continue to struggle with the Corleone family: they are terrorizing bookmakers, shooting ordinary servants, and luring people. The Corleone family goes into martial law. Don, despite his condition, is transported home from the hospital, under reliable protection. Freddie is sent to Las Vegas to recover and get familiar with setting the case in the casinos there. Sonny manages family affairs - and not in the best way. In a senseless and bloody war with five families, he manages to gain a number of separate victories, but the family loses people and incomes, and there is no end to it. I had to cover up some profitable betting points, and Carlo Rizzi, who was left out of business, was taking out his anger on his wife: once he beat her so that Connie called Sonny and asked her to take her home. Losing his head in rage, Sonny rushes to intercede for his sister, is ambushed, and he is killed.

Don Corleone is forced to leave the hospital bed and stand at the head of the family. To everyone’s surprise, he convenes all New York families and family syndicates from across the country for a meeting where he makes a peace proposal. He even agrees to do drugs, but with one condition - his son Michael will not be harmed. The world is made. And only Hagen realizes that the Godfather is nurturing far-reaching plans and today's retreat is only a tactical maneuver.

Michael in Sicily meets a beautiful girl and marries. But his happiness was short-lived - the Barzini family, from the very beginning behind Solozzo and Tattaglia, with the hands of the traitor Fabrizio, arranged an explosion in Michael's car. Michael accidentally survived, but his wife is dying ... Returning to America, Michael expresses a desire to become the real son of his father and work with him.

It takes three years. Michael marries the American Kay Adams, who was waiting for him during the exile. Under the leadership of Hagen and Don, he diligently studies the family business. Like his father, Michael prefers to act not from a position of strength, but from a position of mind and resourcefulness. They plan to transfer business operations to Nevada, having completely switched to a legal position there (a person who did not want to cede his territory to them in Las Vegas is being killed). But at the same time they are developing plans for revenge on the Barzini-Tattaglia union. Partly moving away from business, the Don appoints Michael as his successor, so that in a year he becomes a full Godfather ...

But suddenly Don Corleone dies, after his death, Barzini and Tattaglia violate the peace treaty and try to kill Michael, taking advantage of Tessio's betrayal. But Michael argues that his father's choice was right. Kill Fabrizio. They kill the heads of the families Barzini and Tattaglia. Kill Tessio. They kill Carlo Rizzi, who, as it turned out, on the day of the murder, Sonny intentionally beat his wife at the direction of Barzini.

Upon learning of the death of Carlo, Connie rushes to Michael with reproaches. And although Michael denies everything, Kay suddenly realizes that her husband is a killer. In horror, she picks up the children and leaves for her parents.

A week later, Hagen comes to her. They have a terrible conversation: Tom describes Kay the world that Michael hid all this time from her - a world where you can’t forgive, a world where you need to forget about your affections. “If Michael finds out what I was telling you here, I’m finished,” he concludes. “There are only three people in the world whom he will not do harm - it's you and the children.”

Kay returns to her husband. Soon they are moving to Nevada. Hagen and Freddy work for Michael, Connie remarries. Clemenza is allowed to leave Corleone and establish his own family syndicate. Things are going well, the leadership of the Corleone family is unshakable.

Every morning, Kay and his mother-in-law go to church. Both women earnestly pray for the salvation of the souls of their husbands - two Don, two Godfathers ...