Germinal is the thirteenth novel in the twenty-volume Les Rougon-Macquart series by a famous French writer Émile Zola.

A Mechanic Étienne Lantier, sacked from his previous job on the railways for slapping a superior, arrives at the coal mining town of Montsou to earn a living. He is a skilled worker, and soon he is respected by everyone. Meanwhile, he falls in love with Catherine, a daughter of Maheu, an elderly miner, who helped Étienne get a job in the mine.

The working and living conditions of the miners worsen rapidly, and they go on strike. Étienne became a leader of the strikers. At first, the young idealist is enthusiastic about the protest. However, the strike aggravates the poverty, and the starvation begins. Étienne blames himself for it...