The Arrow of Gold is Joseph Conrads most romantic novel, literally a cloak-and-dagger tale set in the French port of Marseilles and the adjacent "sea of classic adventures." The principal characters are Monsieur George, a young sailor ready for love and adventure, and Doña Rita, a young woman of extraordinary wealth and beauty haunted by a mysterious threat. Supporters of a gallant but hopeless cause draw M. George into their dangerous gunrunning schemes by using Doña Rita as bait. The suspenseful story is told many years after the events in the form of a long letter from the seaman to a childhood friend. In Conrads classic fashion, the "Two Notes" of the subtitle frame the story with multiple and clashing perspectives.