This book, which was originally published by Blackwoods Magazine, in two parts, describes how the author became a war-time officer in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in charge of a Motor Gun Boat on coastal patrol in the English Channel. On February 27th, 1943, they engaged with a group German armed trawlers and David's boat was set on fire and sunk. He was taken prisoner and confined to the Marlag und Milag Nord camp, near Bremen, until he escaped in December under the guise of being a Bulgarian Naval Officer named I. Bagerov. Although he reached and boarded a Swedish vessel in Lubeck, he was arrested when he went back ashore to wait for the ship's departure. A second escape succeeded and he reached Stockholm on February 22nd, 1944.

The story was first published as the book 'A Prisoner's progress' in 1947 by Blackwoods. A second edition, with the same text but also an Introduction by Eric Williams and an updated Preface was published in 1954 by Hollis and Carter.

This American version published by by W.W.Norton under the title 'Escaper's Progress' followed in 1955. It was issued by Corgi as a paperback in England in 1978, and published again in 1986 by James himself, with appendices and a postscript