Matilda Loisel and her husband are an average middle class couple. Matilda longs to be above this, and dreams of the life of luxury and is miserable with the life she has. In an attempt to make his wife happy, Mr. Loisel get an invitation to a social party of important stature. His wife is upset because she has nothing to wear. He gives her the money he was saving to buy himself a gun, so she can buy herself a dress. She then becomes upset because she has no jewelry to wear. She borrows a beautiful diamond necklace from a friend. She loses the necklace at the party. After searching for a week, they realize they must replace the necklace. They use their entire savings, and even take out loans to pay for the replacement diamond necklace. Now they have no money and must both work tirelessly to pay off their debts. Years later, Matilda is withered and worn from working so hard. She runs into her friend on the street one day and confesses to her that they replaced the necklace, and the means by which they did it. In return her friend explained that the necklace was not real diamonds, and was only worth 500 francs