This is a book mainly set in The Balkans in the middle of World War II. Three Yugoslavs set out from Rome to warn The Partisans about the German battle plan that will soon be launched against them. They are accompanied by a number of strange people who are not what they seem.

In fact, no one in this book is who they seem and it’s really quite difficult to work out who are the good people and who aren’t. Even an innkeeper turns out to be a spy. It’s a real mystery, which is unusual for Alistair Maclean as his stories are almost always action thrillers where sharply defined characters are willing to sacrifice their lives to save others or to find out a big secret.