Edmond Dantes was a young sailor who just recieved a position as captain, after taking over when his captain died in the middle of a trip. He was also looking foward to marrying his beautiful fiancee, Mercedes. On his betrothal day, he is arrested and put into the Chateau d'If. This is a prison on an island, where no one has ever escaped. He doesn't know why he is arrested, and later finds that it is the result of four men who conspired against him. These men were Fernand Mondego, Danglars, Caderousse, and Villefort. They hated him for all different reasons. Fernand was jealous of Mercedes' love for Dantes. Danglars conveted Dantes promising job as captain. Caderousse was an unpricinpled neighbor who was dragged into it. Finally, Villefort knew that Dante was carrying a letter for his father, a Bonapartist, and knew that this letter, if revealed, would hurt his position as a prosecutor. .
Living sixteen years in this prison, he grew to seek revenge on those that had ruined his life. While in the prison he found that he had a neighbor. His name was Abbe Faria. They grew to be incredibly close and loved each other as a son and father would. Abbe died before they could escape and left him with knowledge of a treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. .
Dantes escaped in Abbe's burial sack and was thrown into the sea, and was freed. He was picked up by a ship full of smugglers and stayed with them until he found Monte Cristo. When he recovered his treasure, he was overwhelmed at the amount of money he had inquired. He then changed his name to the Count of Monte Cristo, and started to seek revenge on those that had wronged him. .
In the end, he rewarded many who were good to him, such as the Morrel family. Monsieur Morrel was the shipowner that gave him the position as captain. He also got back at the four men that had put him in prison and ruined his life. Before they died, he would reveal his true identity, making their last moment full of terror and guilt.