The novel is a sequel to the Godfather Trilogy. It depicts the chronicle of the notorious Corleone Family as a metaphor for capitalism in America. In other words, the novel aims to shed light on the ascent of a new underworld figure, who is the product of the tumultuous events that took place and drastically changed the world we live in throughout the past three decades in terms of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Gulf War, the September 11 attacks, and the invasion of Iraq. The Godfather IV portrays the rise of Robert Corleone (the protagonist) to power, as well as the remarkable transformations in his volatile life, from a decent, warmhearted young man, a brilliantly preeminent student, to a brutish streetfighter, and a coldblooded murderer, who eventually becomes the head of the most powerful mafia family in the whole world.