The plot is reduced to its simplest expression. The antihero, Jean des Esseintes, after a hectic life during which he experienced all that could offer him the society of his time, retired in a pavilion, Fontenay-aux-Roses, in which he meets the most precious works in his eyes, the rarest objects, to devote himself to idleness and study. Of the whole of the French and Latin literature, it retains only a small number of authors who satisfy it. He admires the paintings of Gustave Moreau, the works of Odilon Redon, creates refined perfumes, a garden of poisonous flowers ... The anecdote of the tortoise is in many ways a metaphor for the destiny of the hero: it is embedded in the carapace of the animal of the precious stones, but this one dies under the weight of the jewels.