Dross

The narrator, a man visiting Paris during grand public celebrations, becomes involved with the aristocratic Clericy household when seeking a vacant post and encountering moral temptation. Social manoeuvres, mismatched intentions, and delicate guardianship around a young woman complicate his prospects. Subsequent episodes trace financial schemes, theft, ruin, flight, exile and returns that test loyalties and conscience. The narrative shifts between provincial scenes and Parisian salons and banking, balancing lively episodes of sport and pursuit with darker reversals. Throughout, personal choices and misunderstandings drive changing fortunes and a final reckoning.