Lord Copper, the newspaper magnate, and proprietor of The Daily Beast have always prided himself on his intuitive flair for spotting ace reporters. That is not to say he has not made the odd blunder, however, and may, in a moment of weakness, make another. A dinner party tip from Mrs. Algernon Stitch has him convinced that he has hit on just the chap to cover a promising little war in the African Republic of Ishmaelia. But Copper's golden boy is actually pale, ineffectual William Boot, editor of the Daily Beast's "Nature Notes" column. And for Boot, being mistaken for a competent journalist may prove to be a fatal error... One of Evelyn Waugh's most exuberant comedies, Scoop is a brilliantly irreverent satire of Fleet Street and its hectic pursuit of hot news, always looking for "the scoop."