When Richard Hannay meets the beautiful Sybil Verney at a race-meeting, he cannot foresee the web of lies and tragedy in which he will quickly become ensnared.
As tension mounts in Europe, the British Government prepares antidotes against possible germ warfare, and Richard Hannay finds himself at the centre of a demonic plot to steal them.
The pleasures of travelling on the Trans European Express from Venice are relished by celebrities, diplomats and holiday-makers alike, but for Richard Hannay the journey proves to be a nightmare.
On the death of his friend, Pelham Swinburne, Hannay inherits a walking-stick, field glasses and the lighthouse on a Fenland marsh - but what is he to make of them all?
