The arrival of a mysterious student at a provincial school disrupts the quiet life of a young boy and initiates a lifelong search for a vanished, dreamlike estate. François Seurel narrates the account of his friendship with Augustin Meaulnes, a charismatic and impulsive classmate who stumbles upon a hidden party in a remote manor. This encounter with a lost domain and the woman he meets there sets Meaulnes on a path of obsession that forces him to navigate the boundaries between adolescent fantasy and the constraints of adult reality. The narrative framework relies on Seurel’s retrospective perspective, blending memory with the atmospheric tension of a world that seems to exist just beyond the reach of logic.

Readers and critics frequently discuss the novel’s unique position as a bridge between childhood innocence and the complexities of adult desire. Discussion often centers on the ethereal, almost hallucinatory quality of the prose which effectively captures the protagonist's internal state. Many highlight the effectiveness of the setting, noting how the landscape itself functions as a character that mirrors the elusive nature of Meaulnes's quest. The balance between the grounded, realistic depiction of school life and the surreal, romantic elements of the search remains a primary point of analysis for those examining the work's enduring influence.