The Count of Monte Cristo is the tense and exciting story of Edmond Dants, a man on the threshold of a bright career and a happy marriage, who is imprisoned in the island fortress of the Chateau d'If on a false political charge. After staging a dramatic escape, he finds the fabulous treasure of Monte Cristo, which makes him wealthy. He then sets upon the course of revenge against his old enemies.

The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the great thrillers of all time. In 1853, the author William Thackeray wrote to a friend, "Began to read Monte Cristo at six one morning and never stopped till eleven at night."