Frenchman Louis de Laval is the son of an exiled aristocrat, whose uncle is trying to persuade him to return to his native country to join Napoleon’s army. It soon becomes apparent however that his uncle has lured him back under false pretences, and Louis finds himself in considerable danger as he gets caught up in an intrigue which threatens the life of the emperor he has come to support. Full of treachery and double dealings, this is a thrilling short story from the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.