Romantic intrigue, financial speculation, satire in the medical profession, a social commentary on the status of women, are all delivered in de Maupassant's "Mont-Oriol", a masterpiece appeared in 1887.

Young bride Christiane arrives in Auvergne to "take the waters" in a spa with her husband, described as "a sickly flower, or a sucking pig with its hair shaved off." But rather than the relaxing family vacation she expects, she finds herself the centre of a conspiracy between her father, the Marquis, and the "fossil" medical team in an effort to solve the problem of a lack of heir. Suddenly the discovery of a new spa throws the resort into disarray and brings a lowly family to prominence.