"It wouldn't be pleasant sharing my flat with a dead body, but there was nothing else I could do." Richard Hannay is bored with life in London. Then he discovers a horrible crime, and finds himself in the middle of a clever and frightening plot. Can he find the proof he needs to save his country from disaster? When Hannay hides out on the wild Scottish moors, will he escape from the dangerous gang who want to silence him forever? Who can he trust on his journey? Time is running out for Hannay and his friends. Will he be able to discover the secret of the thirty-nine steps before it is too late? Real Reads are retellings of great literature from around the world, each fitted into a 64-page book. Our books make classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.