The Lone Wolf: A Melodrama

"The Lone Wolf: A Melodrama" by Louis Joseph Vance is a tale from the early 1900s, following Michael Lanyard, a master thief known as the "Lone Wolf," whose life is a balancing act between his criminal past and the desire for a normal life, raising questions about who he is, what is right and wrong, and the results of his actions. The story starts in Troyon's, a cozy restaurant in Paris, where we hear about Lanyard's difficult start in life as Marcel Troyon, raised by a strict woman. As the story goes on, we see how Lanyard becomes a clever and practical young man, good at stealing and tricking people, all because of his tough life and learning from a thief named Bourke; these memories and Lanyard's current problems lead him back to Troyon's, suggesting he wants to end his past while dealing with a risky life.