Over time, the Abbe Faria and Dantes have developed a close friendship. As fellow inmates of the unspeakable hell-hole that is the Chateau d'If prison, they have come to rely on that friendship to help them survive an experience that has driven so many other men out of their minds.

Faria is a wise old man with a considerable stock of knowledge concerning a wide variety of subjects. He's gladly shared that knowledge with the young Dantes, who is incredibly grateful to Faria for teaching him so much about history, philosophy, and foreign languages.

But this isn't the only treasure that Faria gives Dantes. He also tells him where to find his treasure, which he says is worth the astonishing sum of 13–14 million francs. It is stashed away on Monte Cristo, a small, rocky island in the middle of the Mediterranean. Faria hopes that, once he's finally escaped from Chateau d'If, Dantes will make a beeline for Monte Cristo and help himself to all that lovely treasure.

Although Faria has been planning to escape the prison for a long time, he's come to realize that he's unlikely to succeed. His health is failing, and he's convinced that the next seizure will be his last. So he places his hopes on Dantes. He's sure that Dantes will be able to do a lot of good with Faria's wealth once he's found it.