A collection of short stories about guests at a hotel in the south of France shortly before the First World War engaged in international intrigue. Mr Laxworthy cleverly learns their secrets and seeks to profit by this knowledge.

The stories were first published in serial form in 1912 and this kindle edition is produced from scanned copies as published in the New York newspaper The Sun in 1913 - 1914. The stories were collected and published, slightly re-written, as a single volume by Cassell and Co in 1914.