The Thirty-Nine Steps

" With this gripping novel of espionage, murder and pursuit, John Buchan invented the modern spy thriller.

It tells the breakneck tale of Richard Hannay, who returns to his London flat one night to discover a dead body - just days after the victim warned him of a plot that could bring Britain to the brink of war. Suspected of murder, Hannay must go on the run in the wilds of his native Scotland, and somehow try to warn the government before it is too late. "