Robert Erskine Childers universally known as Erskine Childers was the author of the influential novella The Enigma of the Sands.

Cuando Carruthers, aburrido del verano londinense y de la monotonía de su trabajo en el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, acepta una invitación de su amigo Davies para participar en un crucero por el Báltico, no sabe que ha dado comienzo a un aventura tan peligrosa como extraordinaria. El yate resulta ser un bote destartalado, y mientras navegan las aguas y las arenas movedizas y traicioneras de las islas a bordo del "Dulcibella", Carruthers comprende que el objetivo de la curiosa expedición no es precisamente cazar patos, y que sus conocimientos de alemán tienen una utilidad insospechada. Sin embargo, a medida que surgen los desafíos, acaba por entusiasmarse con el coraje y la templanza de su amigo, y descubre en su propio interior nuevas fuerzas y un desconocido sentido moral. > When Carruthers, bored with the London summer and the monotony of his job at the Foreign Office, accepts an invitation from his friend Davies to take part in a Baltic cruise, he does not know that he has started an adventure as dangerous as it is extraordinary. The yacht turns out to be a rickety boat, and as they navigate the treacherous, shifting sands and waters of the islands aboard the Dulcibella, Carruthers understands that the goal of the curious expedition is not exactly duck hunting, and that his knowledge of German they have an unsuspected utility. However, as challenges arise, he eventually becomes enthusiastic about his friend's courage and temperance, discovering within himself new strengths and an unknown moral sense.