"The Thirty-Nine Steps" is John Buchan's thrilling adventure novel of international intrigue and espionage set during the early days of the First World War.

When bored engineer Richard Hannay - an unflappable and quick-witted Scotsman - is visited by a friend fleeing the clutches of a German spy ring, he is suddenly drawn into a complex plot wherein Hannay must stop a murderous secret agent from crossing the English Channel and spilling his secrets to his German spymasters. (Hannay would go on to appear in a series of popular Buchan novels.)

An early example of "man-on-the-run" adventure fiction where a civilian is drawn into an international conspiracy (imitators include "North by Northwest" and "The Da Vinci Code"), "The Thirty-Nine Steps" has been adapted numerous times to the stage, screen, television and radio and is the basis for the hit Broadway play of the same name. It is presented here in its original and unabridged format.