A simple plot that steadily grows more complex. The book opens with supposed Duke Claude Lafont discussing the whereabouts of his lawyer, who he sent to Australia to search for the hitherto unkwn heir to his Uncle's Dukedom. Jake Darrendall a cat loving sheepherder from the bush of Australia. Hornung gets all the mileage he can out of such a simple premise with several twists. Every character has an arc even the character who talks about exclusively golf.
Ernest William Hornung (7 June 1866 – 22 March 1921) was an English author and poet known for writing the A. J. Raffles series of stories about a gentleman thief in late 19th-century London. Hornung was educated at Uppingham School; as a result of poor health he left the school in December 1883 to travel to Sydney, where he stayed for two years. He drew on his Australian experiences as a background when he began writing, initially short stories and later novels.