The novel opens with a panorama of the provincial town of Verrières, located in southern France. The reader is immediately confronted with the racket of a nail-making factory, which belongs to the town mayor, M. de Rênal. Descended from an old aristocratic family, M. de Rênal is ashamed of having to participate in industry, especially since he was made mayor of Verrières after supporting the restoration of the absolutist monarchy in 1815. The mayor tries to maintain an air of superiority about him but has recently been embarrassed by old Sorel, the owner of a local saw mill. Sorel recently manipulated Rênal into over-paying for a piece of land; a humiliation before public opinion that M. de Rênal is forced to endure.