Tales of highway robbery terrified many of the Cornish to the extent that men travelling to London on business often wrote their wills as they believed they were unlikely to return safely.

This volume contains three of Q's tales of highway robbery. The Statement of Gabriel Foot, Highwayman tells the tale of his trial for murder and the consequences; whilst The Two Householders recounts Gabriel Foot's discovery of a mysterious mansion at night; and The Man Behind The Curtain relates the consequences on a family of a disinherited heir. All three also provide enjoyable insights in Cornish etiquette and traditions which are now long forgotten.

Now surpassed in fame as a writer by his daughter's best friend, Daphne du Maurier, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch was the pre-eminent Cornish writer of Victorian and Edwardian times and founder of the Cambridge University school of English Literature. He is of particular interest since his fiction was very often based on factual events long passed from memory.