Reissue of the classic tale of suspense set in Provence, where an English tourist investigates a series of mysterious deaths, from the acclaimed master of action and suspense. From all over Europe, even from behind the Iron Curtain, gypsies make an annual pilgrimage to the holy shrine of their patron saint in the Provence region of southern France. But something is different about this year's gathering, with many suspicious deaths. Cecile Dubois and Neil Bowman decide to investigate. Eavesdropping, Bowman discovers that a man named Gaiuse Strome is financing the gypsies, and his suspicions on the real identity of Strome center on a highly wealthy aristocrat, distinguished folklorist and gastronome, Le Grand Duc Charles de Croytor, whose girlfriend Lila Delafont is a friend of Cecile. As they follow the caravan, Bowman and Cecile find that their lives in danger many times in an effort to uncover the secret the gypsies are so determined to hide, and before long are running for their lives. / This classic tale of murder and intrigue was originally published in 1970 and is now reissued as part of a major repackaging of the key MacLean backlist titles. / This volume is part of a new effort to re-establish Alistair Maclean as the UK's foremost writer of thrillers and wartime adventures. / Alistair MacLean's books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide / Many have been turned into award-winning blockbuster films, including The Guns of Navarone, Where Eages Dare, The Satan Bug and Ice Station Zebra

'Even more action-packed than its predecessors' The Times 'The best MacLean since The Guns of Navarone. Gypsy caravans holding dark secrets, swarthy, murderous men, knives glinting in the moonlight. Alistair MacLean is a magnificent storyteller' Sunday Mirror 'The usual blend of MacLean magic! Murder, torture and intimidation follow each other in breathless succession to an exciting finale' Yorkshire Post

Alistair MacLean, the son of a Scots minister, was brought up in the Scottish Highlands. In 1941 he joined the Royal Navy. After the war he read English at Glasgow University and became a schoolmaster. The two and a half years he spent aboard a wartime cruiser were to give him the background for HMS Ulysses, his remarkably successful first novel, published in 1955. He is now recognized as one of the outstanding popular writers of the 20th century, the author of 29 worldwide bestsellers, many of which have been filmed.