The novel opens with the return of the Pharaon, a merchant ship, to the port of Marseilles, where its owner, M. Morrel, awaits it. The ship is under the command of 19-year-old first mate Edmond Dantès, as the captain, Leclere, has died en route and been buried at sea. M. Morrel hints that Edmond may have earned a promotion, while the ship’s purser, Danglars, expresses resentment at the speed with which Edmond took charge.

Before his death, Leclere asked Edmond to deliver a package to the island of Elba, where Napoleon Bonaparte is living in exile. As the reader will learn, Edmond’s visit to Elba occurs shortly before Napoleon’s return to France, placing the action in the spring of 1815. At the moment, France is ruled by Louis XVIII, brother of the executed Louis XVI, who took the throne after Napoleon’s forced abdication.

Edmond has carried out the late captain’s mission, to Morrel’s approval. Morrel asks Edmond to have dinner with him, but Edmond says he must go see his elderly father and his fiancée, Mercédès. He also asks Morrel for two weeks’ leave, so he can be married and make a journey to Paris.