James 'Max' Maxted, former Great War flying ace, returns to the trail of murder and treachery he set out on in The Ways of the World. He left Paris after avenging the murder of his father, Sir Henry Maxted, convinced the only man who knows about the mysterious events leading up to Sir Henry's death is elusive German spymaster, Fritz Lemmer. To find out more, he turns double agent and is despatched by Lemmer to the Orkney Isles to gain possession of a document secreted aboard one of the German battleships interned in Scapa Flow. But the information the document contains is so explosive Max is forced to break cover and embark3 on a desperate and dangerous race south, pursued by enemies determined to recover it at any cost. The breathless chase will take Max from the far north of Scotland to the south of France. he can trust no-one and the stakes could not be higher. It is life and death for all concerned.