Sarah Macnaughtan was born in 1864. She was a writer and worked in the suffrage movement. When the war began she worked as a volunteer nurse in Belgium. The Lame dog is a British soldier who came back from the Boar War with two shattered legs. The soldier keeps a diary to help with the boredom during his recovery. His diary is full of the people and local sayings of this small old fashioned and isolated village. The soldier falls in love with one of his visitors.