When German submarines were sinking so much Allied shipping that Britain faced the danger of starvation, Dennis Wheatley - then a member of the War Cabinet's Joint Planning Staff - suggested that a system of raft convoys, moved by the Gulf Stream and prevailing winds, should be used to float essential supplies across the Atlantic. This story is based on that idea.
Philip Vaudell leaves the United States on a solitary raft, but when he comes across a ploy that would put him in danger, he casts away from his crew and the raft is left in the lap of the gods.
But, with Philip was the other real trouble - in the enticing shape of red-headed Gloria, who had stowed away on his raft.
Instead of drifting into European waters, they are carried down to the Antarctic where, amidst its eternal snows, he discovers a large area with a warm climate and populated by a lost race. Will they be able to make contact and request rescue, or will they be forced to find a way to integrate with these people? Furthermore, will they be welcomed, or used as part of their ritual human sacrifice?
Autorentext
Dennis Yates Wheatley (1897-1977) was an English author whose prolific output of stylish thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's best-selling writers from the 1930s through the 1960s. His Gregory Sallust series was one of the main inspirations for Ian Fleming's James Bond stories.
Born in South London, he was the eldest of three children of an upper-middle-class family, the owners of Wheatley & Son of Mayfair, a wine business. He admitted to little aptitude for schooling, and was expelled from Dulwich College. Soon after his expulsion Wheatley became a British Merchant Navy officer cadet on the training ship HMS Worcester. During the Second World War, Wheatley was a member of the London Controlling Section, which secretly coordinated strategic military deception and cover plans. His literary talents gained him employment with planning staffs for the War Office. He wrote numerous papers for the War Office, including suggestions for dealing with a German invasion of Britain. During his life, he wrote more than 70 books which sold over 50 million copies.