"Surely a Glasgow policeman must be the most magnificent person in all Scotland," thought six-year-old Allan Pinkerton. He was so proud of his father in a long-tailed coat and top hat that he wanted to wear the same kind of uniform. He could hardly wait to grow up, so that he could become a policeman, just like his father.

Fate decided differently. Allan's father was injured in subduing a riot and Allan had to quit school and go to work. Even though he was only a small boy, he had to work hard to help support the family.

Allan's mother was pleased when he gave up becoming a policeman. She was grieved about his father and didn't want the same tragedy to happen to him. Even so, Allan seemed to have a natural bent for investigation crime and capturing criminals. Once he caught a thief in the country who had stolen his Cousin Margaret's pet lamb.

While Allan was still a boy, he became an apprentice in a cooper shop. Someday he hoped to own a shop of his own, but something changed his plans. The cooper's nephew returned from America and told him about opportunities in the New World.

On one of Allan's trips to his cousin's farm he met a Scottish girl named Joan Carfrae. Later he married this girl and took her to Glasgow to live.

Shortly after his marriage, Allan fled to America with his wife to avoid labor difficulties. On their way across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada, they were shipwrecked and almost lost their lives.

In America Allan Pinkerton became noted for tracking down counterfeiters, thieves, and spites. In 1850 he organized a detective agency, the first such organization in America. Today the Pinkerton organization is one of the largest detective organizations in the world, with nearly fifty branches scattered about the United States and Canada.

After Abraham Lincoln was elected President, Pinkerton was employed to guard the President-elect on his way to Washington for the inauguration. On this trip, he foiled an attempt to assassinate Lincoln. Shortly afterwards he organized the United States Bureau of Secret Service.

The authors, Kathryn Kilby Borland and Helen Ross Speicher, have written an interesting story about this fascinating character. They clearly show why this pioneer detective is entitled to lasting fame.

From the dust jacket