An old man, taking what may become the last walking tour of his life. . . . A young man who's a poet and a war hero, touring the countryside on foot after convalescing from the wounds he took on the front during the first world war. . . . A romantic, isolated, and forboding castle on the Scottish seacoast. . . . A Russian princess and the men who've kidnapped her. . . . It's a recipe for a recipe for romance and adventure, John Buchan style.