"These thirty short stories show an acknowledged master of the genre at the peak of his power. Most are set in the colonies at a time when the Empire was still assured, in a world in which men and women were caught between their unfamiliar surroundings. In this languid life, Maugham shows how a tiny spark of stray emotion acts as the catalyst to human tragedy. In subtle contrast, the stories set in an English landscape provide more familiar territory...

Collects all of the stories the author wanted to preserve, providing a rich view of his prolific talent, wide-ranging views, and engaging style

Travel writer Pico Iyer selects vignettes of Maugham's wise and vivid prose that track his transformation from a boyish traveler to a worldly man of letters, looking back on India, China, Russia, and America.

In the South Seas, a disapproving missionary undertakes the conversion of a prostitute.

"Adulteress Leslie Crosbie fires a bullet into her lover then, for good measure, five more. At trial, her plaintive testimony tilts the jury toward acquittal. Then scheming Leslie learns someone has a telltale letter she wrote to her paramour" -- Container.

he Edgar Award-winning editor and owner of a the Mysterious Bookshop in New York City presents a new anthology of spy stories describing tales of state secrets, double agents and leaks from authors including Lee Child and Charles McCarry.

Set in the 1920s. A young English couple, Walter a middle class doctor and Kitty, an upper-class woman, get married for all the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai. Kitty falls in love with someone else. When Walter discovers her infidelity, in an act of vengeance, he accepts a job in a remote village in China that is being ravaged by a deadly epidemic. He takes his wife along and their journey brings meaning to their relationship and gives them...