Set in the Paris of the Second Empire, this novel explores the world of the stock exchange. Aristide Saccard, a ruthless speculator, sets up a bank with grand plans for investment in the Near East. Shares rise on rumour and ambition, and investors from every rank of society are drawn in. Zola shows finance as a feverish, almost living force that can create wealth and ruin alike. The book is a sharp study of speculation, greed and public trust, and it still feels strikingly modern.