The Rider is a short Ruritanian romance by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs. The kingdoms of Margoth and Karlova, age-old rivals, negotiate a marriage alliance between royal heirs Princess Mary of Margoth and Crown Prince Boris of Karlova. Each resists the idea of wedding a hereditary enemy. Meanwhile, in America, lovers Gwendolyn Bass and Hemmington Main find their matrimonial hopes thwarted by Gwendolyn's mother, who dreams of her daughter marrying into European nobility.