In the opening paragraph of the short story, the narrator, Montresor, explains why he is upset with Fortunato. Fortunato had apparently wounded and laughed at the narrator, who mentions that he has suffered in silence as Fortunato repeatedly insulted him thousands of times. The narrator quietly takes note of Fortunato's offensive behavior and plots his revenge. In the remainder of the short story, the narrator convinces Fortunato to follow him deep into his vaults, where the rare Amontillado wine is supposedly located. Fortunato follows the narrator until he reaches a small recess in the wall towards the back of the vaults. When Fortunato enters the recess, the narrator chains his arms and begins to build a wall of stone behind Fortunato, essentially burying him alive.
