Making the most of his charm and good looks (his admirers nickname him "Bel Ami"), Duroy exploits the weaknesses of others to his own advantagein the process betraying the woman who has most selflessly supported him. Published in 1885, Bel Ami is not only a vivid portrait of a glamorously corrupt and long-vanished Paris, but also a strikingly modern expos&eacute; of the destructiveness of unconstrained ambition, sex, and power.