This book is the sequel to the first of The Austin Chronicles, "Austin". Intended for readers over nine to adult, this is a classic adventure story set both in the present day and the Second World War. The lavish plot deals with spies, secret-codes, and Austin's career in the British Secret Service as part of a mysterious expedition to be the first nation to find the lost continent of Atlantis and an awesome mystic force known only to the ancient Atlanteans that can both heal and destroy. Though set largely in the present day, the story also glimpses a time where computer development was in its infancy, where mechanical computers look set to prevail, and where the horrific consequences of racial persecution are made real to young readers. Like the first book in the Austin Chronicles, "Austin and the Secret of Karnak House" is an anthropomorphic tale with animal characters whose humorous antics and conversation provide light-hearted contrast to some of the darker human activities in this book.