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.