The story is told in the first person by the hero, Jonathan Dark, who is represented to be its author. Carter, the actual author, claims to have merely edited the manuscript, which, like subsequent works in the series, supposedly found its way to him from the ruins of the ancient city of Arangkhôr in Cambodia.
Some signs of shelf wear such as scuffing, a remainder mark, and creasing on the wrapper. Pages are unmarked with a sound binding.