"Doktor Nikola" by Guy Boothby is a novel published in 1896. The enigmatic Dr. Nikola enlists young Australian Wilfred Bruce for a perilous expedition to a remote Buddhist monastery in the heart of China. Their quest: to obtain mysterious treasures that promise extraordinary power—possibly connected to hypnotism or ancient magic. For £20,000, Bruce agrees to face hair-raising adventures alongside the inscrutable doctor, whose true motives remain deliberately unclear. What secrets lie hidden in that distant monastery, and what will Nikola do once he possesses them?