A man named Champmathieu is about to be convicted for being Jean Valjean; after debating what to do for an entire night, the real Valjean decides to turn himself in. Fantine dies just before he is arrested, and Valjean vows to take care of Cosette.
After faking his death, Valjean escapes from prison and liberates Cosette from the depraved Thénardiers. They move to Paris and soon love each other as father and daughter. Javert, however, has refused to give up on his search for Valjean and eventually learns where he lives in Paris. Valjean realizes that he is in danger, and, after an agonizing and suspenseful pursuit throughout Paris, Valjean and Cosette just barely escape by hiding in the Petit Picpus Convent. They end up staying there for a few years, while Valjean avoids the police and Cosette gets an education.
The narrator then introduces Marius Pontmercy, the son of a famous Napoleonic colonel. Marius' maternal grandfather, a staunch monarchist named M. Gillenormand, refuses to let Marius' father, Georges Pontmercy, have custody of Marius for political reasons, threatening to disown Marius if he refuses. His father reluctantly agrees, and it is not until he dies that Marius begins to love him. Marius soon becomes an ardent supporter of Napoleon and this political difference with his grandfather forces him to move out. He joins a student-led group of revolutionaries, the Friends of the ABC, but his support for the defunct French Empire puts him at odds with the other members and he quits. Marius suffers through poverty just barely managing to get by. But his spirits soon rise when he falls in love with a woman he sees at the Luxembourg Gardens--none other than Cosette.
Even though Cosette gives Marius a suggestive look one day, they have yet to meet, and Marius soon loses track of both Cosette and Jean Valjean (whom Marius nicknames "Leblanc"). Marius becomes depressed after not seeing Cosette for the whole winter, but his luck soon changes.
