In this classic tale of wartime espionage, Richard Hannay's living nightmare begins at home with the discovery of a dead man in his London flat. He becomes an innocent on the run, pursued by the police for a murder he didn't commit. In Scotland, Hannay realizes that the notebook he recovered from the dead man is worth far more than he first thought, not least of all to a gang of German spies who will apparently stop at nothing to retrieve it. The Foreign Office in London is his last refuge of safety, and when Sir Walter Bullivan becomes convinced of Hannay's innocence, the two join forces. If they are to foil German plans to attack the British fleet, they must first unlock the notebook's secret of the thirty-nine steps.