May 1914. Britain is on the eve of war with Germany. Richard Hannay is living a quiet life in London, but after a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger he stumbles into a hair-raising adventure-desperate hunt across the country and against the clock,pursed by the police and cunning, ruthless enemy. Hannys life and security of Britain are in grave peril, and everything rests on the solution to a baffling enigma: what are the thirty-nine steps?