"The First Sir Percy" is a tale of the ancestor of the famous Scarlet Pimpernel. It is March 1624 in Holland. Two months earlier, a mercenary who calls himself "Diogenes" foiled the plot on the life of the Stadtholder, Prince of Orange. Now, he has finally met his real father, an English nobleman, and realized his true identity as Sir Percy Blake of Blakeney, heir to a large estate in Sussex. "The Scarlet Pimpernel" Set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution The Scarlet Pimpernel is the tale of Sir Percy Blakeney, a chivalrous Englishman who rescues aristocrats before they are sent to the guillotine. He is known by his symbol, a simple flower, the scarlet pimpernel. Marguerite Blakeney, his French wife, does not share his secret. She is approached by the new French envoy to England with a threat to her brother's life if she does not aid in the search for the Pimpernel.

Baroness Emmuska Orczy (1865-1947) was a Hungarian-born British novelist and playwright. She is best known for her series of novels featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel, the alter ego of Sir Percy Blakeney, a wealthy English fop who transforms into a formidable swordsman and a quick-thinking escape artist, establishing the "hero with a secret identity" into popular culture.