An Eton boy, who has escaped from his mother’s influence and has fallen in love with a woman who is believed to be an adventuress, is the central figure in Mr. Hornung’s new story. The scene is laid in Switzerland, with a background of piquant hotel gossip, the narrative being in the words of a friend of the boy’s mother who has undertaken the task of disillusioning the lad. The result is as unconventional as it is unexpected.

E. W. Hornung was friendly with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and married his sister. He is best known for having taken his brother-in-law’s detective pair, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and reincarnated them on the wrong side of the law as Raffles and Bunny, who pursued the business of getting a living by the entirely logical method of stealing it.