Résumé
The story opens on a bleak, starless night as an unemployed man named Étienne Lantier travels towards the mining town of Montsou in northern France.
Cold and hungry, he encounters an old coal miner, Vincent Maheu, nicknamed "Bonnemort" (good death) due to his close calls with death in the mine.
The conversation between the two men reveals the brutal reality of the miners' lives, the long history of the Maheu family working in the mines, and the widespread poverty and unemployment plaguing the region.
The scene sets a somber and realistic tone, highlighting the oppressive conditions and the looming social issues in the mining community.