Set in the coal-mining country of northern France, this novel follows Étienne Lantier, an unemployed machinist who finds work underground and lodges among the miners' families. He sees their hunger, debts and dangerous labour, and begins to dream of organised resistance. As wages are cut, tension grows between the workers and the company that owns the pits. Zola draws on careful research to describe life below and above ground with great force. The book is a landmark of naturalist fiction and a powerful picture of class conflict and the cost of industrial progress.