With full access to the Ransome papers, as well as to much material that has only recently come to light, this book looks at the story of Arthur Ransome's life. In particular the book looks at Ransome's experiences in Russia and about the often surprising background to the Swallows and Amazons books. For a man who longed for a quiet existence, Ransome had an adventurous life, including two stormy marriages, a melodramatic divorce suit, a ringside view of the Russian Revolution and, as a correspondent for the Manchester Guardian, travelled in the Middle East and China.