The half-hearted

by John Buchan

In the closing years of the 19th century, Lewis Haystoun, a dilettante and coward, falls for Alice Wishart, a guest at a Scottish country house party hosted by Lady Manorwater. Ill at ease in his own life, however, and constantly torn between conflicting interests and social values, Haystoun, initially something of a pathetic figure, responds to the call of duty and travels to India where--no longer half-hearted--he attempts to foil a Russian invasion of the British Empire's Hindu Kush frontier.