When Richard Hannay returns from a long stay in Africa, he becomes caught up in a sensational plot to precipitate a pan-European war. After the discovery of a corpse in his flat, Hannay flees the attentions of both the conspirators and the forces of the law, and the pursuit turns into a thrilling manhunt. Set against the hot summer which precedes the outbreak of the First World War, "The Thirty-nine Steps" is one of the finest and most highly admired thrillers ever written.