
Winter 1943, and US General Carnaby has been captured by the Nazis. He is being held in a fortress high in the Bavarian Alps. headquarters of the German Secret Service, and in his head are plans for the invasion of Normandy.
A special team of British commandos, a US Army ranger and a female secret agent is hurriedly assembled. Their mission: parachute into the area, break in to the alpine Castle, and rescue General Carnaby before the Germans can interrogate him.
But unknown to all, there is another mission, and someone in the group is a traitor...
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.

Winter 1943, and US General Carnaby has been captured by the Nazis. He is being held in a fortress high in the Bavarian Alps. headquarters of the German Secret Service, and in his head are plans for the invasion of Normandy.
A special team of British commandos, a US Army ranger and a female secret agent is hurriedly assembled. Their mission: parachute into the area, break in to the alpine Castle, and rescue General Carnaby before the Germans can interrogate him.
But unknown to all, there is another mission, and someone in the group is a traitor...
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.