The Thirty-Nine Steps was written by John Buchan and published in the year 1915. The novel begins as Richard Hannay has just arrived back in London after an extensive stay in South Africa. Hannay is accustomed to a fast-paced lifestyle and quickly tires of the London scene. Shortly after his return home, he meets a secret agent who believes that Great Britain is on the verge of a war with Germany and warns Hannay to be on the lookout for a group of assassins, collectively known as The Black Stone. The man hides in Hannay's apartment for a while
