The names Captain Francis Wilford ('Bamiyan was in actual fact the Garden of Eden'), Reuben Burrow ('Stonehenge is evidently one of the temples of
Boodh') and the army-deserter-cum-spy Charles Masson, who carved an inscription in the cave ('If any fool this high samooch ['cave'] explore, know that Charles Masson has been here before') all add a dash of derring-do to this thoroughly researched and entertaining narrative.