In this, the second of the DuPré trilogy, James has quit as prime minister and, with Sally and Jasmine, sets off on a sailing tour of the Mediterranean.

Things do not go to plan and they are quickly drawn into problems. Jasmine makes a full recovery from her ordeals in Fort George and plays a crucial role in rescuing a friend of James’s. For some people, no matter how hard they try to quit, events take over their lives. The rescue leads them into a dangerous recovery of gold and the building of an empire to dispose of it. It increasingly appears that once you have a dangerous lifestyle you can never get away from it. Throughout all of the hardship, love and romance flourish.