Eugénie's father is a former cooper who has become wealthy through both business ventures and inheritance (having inherited the estates of his mother-in-law, grandfather-in-law, and grandmother all in one year). However, he is very miserly, and he, his wife, daughter, and their servant Nanon live in Saumur (France) in a run-down old house which he is too miserly to repair. His banker des Grassins wants Eugénie to marry his son Adolphe, and his lawyer Cruchot wants Eugénie to marry his nephew des Bonfons, both parties eyeing her inheritance. The two families constantly visit the Grandets to get father's favor, and he in turn plays them off against each other for his own advantage.—jsanchez