Charles Strickland, a minor London stockbroker whom none of his friends or loved ones ever saw anything unusual in, after seventeen years of marriage suddenly abandons his wife and children. He goes to Paris and leaves his family and acquaintances utterly amazed by a message: he has decided to leave in order to become an artist. He starts drawing in a completely unconventional way, ignoring his surroundings and their opinions. Despite such indifference to those around him, he exerts a tremendous influence over them, subduing them to his will—often causing them no small suffering with his cruelty and indifference.