The novel centers on Richard Hannay, who returned to London three months ago. During the last several years, he made a fortune working as a mining engineer in the “veld,” or rural area in the British colony of Rhodesia. Though many in London ask him about life in the colonies, he says he is “fed up” with having nothing interesting to do. Returning home from his club, Hannay determines, “I would give the Old Country another day to fit me into something; if nothing happened, I would take the next boat for the Cape” (4), referring to the southern tip of Africa.

Hannay’s desire for change is answered when he arrives home. About to unlock the door to his apartment, one of his upstairs neighbors suddenly appears next to him. The neighbor is described as a “nervous little chap” who asks to be let in, quickly looks around the apartment, checks that the door is locked, and says to Hannay, “You see, I happen at this moment to be dead” (5). Intrigued, Hannay agrees to hear his story.

The neighbor introduces himself as Franklin P. Scudder, an American originally from Kentucky, who practices espionage. He says that he connected with an underground movement of “very dangerous people” (6).