'One of literature's first, greatest, and most dastardly gentleman rogues rise again
'The British Viceroy first meets Simon Carne while traveling in the Indian countryside. Charmed, he invites the reclusive hunchbacked scholar to London for a season of high society, little suspecting that his guest is actually an adventurer and master of disguise. Carne – aided by his loyal butler, Belton – embarks on a crime spree, stealing from London's richest citizens and then making fools of them by posing as a detective investigating the thefts.'
Source: Publisher's blurb (Penguin Classics).