Monsieur Goriot is one of a disparate group of lodgers at Mademe Vauquer's dingy Parisian boarding house At first his wealth inspires respect but as his circumstances are mysteriously reduced he becomes shunned by those around him & soon his only remaining visitors are his two beautifully dressed daughters Goriot's fate is intertwined with two other fellow boarders the young social climber Eugene Rastignac who sees a way to gain the acceptance & wealth he craves & the enigmatic figure of Vautrin who is hiding darker secrets than anyone Weaving a compelling & panoramic story of love money self-sacrifice corruption greed & ambition Old Man Goriot is Balzac's acknowledged masterpiece A key novel in his Comedie Humaine series it is a vividly realized portrait of bourgeois Parisian society in the years following the French Revolution