
Aboard the SS Campari, all is not well.
For Johnny Carter, the Chief Officer, the voyage has already begun badly; but it's only when the Campari sails that evening, after a succession of delays that he realises something is seriously wrong.
A member of the crew is suddenly missing and the stern-to-stern search only serves to increase tension. Then violence erupts and suddenly the whole ship is in danger. Is the Campari a victim of modern day piracy? And what of the strange cargo hidden below the decks?
Alistair MacLean was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of a minister. He spent much of his childhood in Daviot, Scotland. His native language was Scottish Gaelic. During World War II he served with the Royal Navy and was released in 1946. After the war, he studied English at the University of Glasgow, and he began writing short stories for extra income. He graduated in 1953 and became a a school teacher in Rutherglen. In 1954 he won a fiction competition and Collins Publishing asked him for a novel. He submitted HMS Ulysses, drawn from his own war experiences, and it was published in 1955. It was very successful and MacLean became a full-time writer. In the 1960s, he published two novels under the pseudonym "Ian Stuart." His books eventually sold so well that he moved to Switzerland as a tax exile. From 1963–1966, he took a hiatus from writing to run a hotel business in England. He continued to write until his death in 1987, although with his later books his popularity declined.

Aboard the SS Campari, all is not well.
For Johnny Carter, the Chief Officer, the voyage has already begun badly; but it's only when the Campari sails that evening, after a succession of delays that he realises something is seriously wrong.
A member of the crew is suddenly missing and the stern-to-stern search only serves to increase tension. Then violence erupts and suddenly the whole ship is in danger. Is the Campari a victim of modern day piracy? And what of the strange cargo hidden below the decks?
Alistair MacLean was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of a minister. He spent much of his childhood in Daviot, Scotland. His native language was Scottish Gaelic. During World War II he served with the Royal Navy and was released in 1946. After the war, he studied English at the University of Glasgow, and he began writing short stories for extra income. He graduated in 1953 and became a a school teacher in Rutherglen. In 1954 he won a fiction competition and Collins Publishing asked him for a novel. He submitted HMS Ulysses, drawn from his own war experiences, and it was published in 1955. It was very successful and MacLean became a full-time writer. In the 1960s, he published two novels under the pseudonym "Ian Stuart." His books eventually sold so well that he moved to Switzerland as a tax exile. From 1963–1966, he took a hiatus from writing to run a hotel business in England. He continued to write until his death in 1987, although with his later books his popularity declined.