Lost Horizon is a 1933 novel by English writer James Hilton.It is best remembered as the origin of Shangri-La, a fictional utopian lamasery located high in the mountains of Tibet.

Lost Horizon is a masterpiece of modern fiction, and one of the most enduring classics of the twentieth century. Hugh Conway saw humanity at its worst while fighting in the trenches of the First World War. Now, more than a decade later, Conway is a British diplomat serving in Afghanistan and facing war yet again-this time, a civil conflict forces him to flee the country by plane. When Conway's (a British diplomat) plane crashes high in the Himalayas, Conway and the other survivors are found by a mysterious guide and led to a breathtaking discovery: the hidden valley of Shangri-La. Kept secret from the world for more than two hundred years, Shangri-La is like paradise-a place whose inhabitants live for centuries amid the peace and harmony of the fertile valley. But when the leader of the Shangri-La monastery falls ill, Conway and the others must face the daunting prospect of returning home to a world about to be torn open by war.