The novel depicts the fate of a poor girl from the provinces who comes to Paris and gets a job as a salesclerk in a department store with the striking name «Ladies’ Happiness»—one of those that were created then in the French capital. Thanks to patience, intelligence, and a sense of self-respect, she manages to overcome all difficulties that arise on her way and to achieve a position she could hardly have dreamed of. Zola, with unprecedented scope and genuine lyricism, portrays the triumph of entrepreneurship.