Anthony Durrell is a man of colorful past who lives in an old Stonehanger House with his daughter Nance. On the eve of Napoleonic Wars a ring of French spies created the spy web in England and nobody could be trusted. One evening, the Durrell's are upset by sudden arrival of a wounded stranger Jasper Benham, which causes turmoil and disorder at the old Stonehanger, revealing some things from old Durrell's past. The suspenseful situation makes everyone doubt everything and so begin the spy games.

Warwick Deeping (1877-1950) was an English novelist and short story writer, whose best-known novel was Sorrell and Son. Deeping's early work is dominated by historical romances, while his later novels more usually dealt with modern life, and were critical of many tendencies of twentieth-century civilization. Deeping's novels often deal with controversial issues such as social work and medicine in the slums, gender ambiguity, alcoholism, and women abuse.