Who is the protagonist of THE BELLY OF PARIS and what is his situation that sets up the novel?

The protagonist of the story is Florent Quenu, a mild-mannered individual who is wrongly accused of murder and participating in an insurrection orchestrated by Louis-Napoleon in December, 1851. Florent is deported and sent to Devil's Island in Dutch Guiana. After he escapes from "Cayenne" as the penal colony is called, Florent Quenu returns to Paris to find that the entire city has changed.