Crossing the Atlantic on NATO's behalf, Drum tangles with mobsters, blackmail, and murder As the H.M.S. Queen Victoria pulls out of New York Harbor, danger encircles Chester Drum. He's sailing for Europe on the largest luxury liner ever built, but it's not big enough to hold the secrets on board—or the men who keep them. And by the time the liner reaches Southampton, she will be missing a few passengers. Drum can only hope he isn't among those who don't make it to shore. Hired by a NATO functionary as a bodyguard, the private investigator quickly learns his real assignment: protecting his client from a Chicago mobster with dreams of blackmail. Keeping the mafia at bay is tricky enough, but when a State Department colleague ends up in the line of fire, Drum sets his mind on getting even. After all, there is no better spot for vengeance than the icy waters of the open sea.