Tom Mangan seems to have things going for him: he is happily married and has two daughters, and his business on the Bahamas is doing well.  Billy Cunningham, an old school-buddy he kept in touch with, contacts him one day for a business-proposal: the family-company wants to expand its tourism-industry, the Bahamas is one of the options, so a merger with Tom Managan's company could be profitable for both.

Just when the deal is almost closed, Tom's wife and one of his daughters disappear during a boat-trip on the sea.  The ship is never found, only the body of his daughter Susan is recovered, and the post-mortem reveals that the little girl's death wasn't an accident.  Tom Mangan's world is rocked, he throws himself on his work while he tries to rebuild his life.  The inquest never revealed much more than some educated guesses, and deep down Mangan never gives up the hope to find the one responsible for the tragedy.

In the mean time Tom Mangan marries Billy Cunningham's niece Debbie.  The marriage is a bit overshadowed by Tom's devotion to his work, and Debbie returns home, to Texas, to think things over.  In the mean time some luck brings Tom on the trail of a suspect, but the man escapes.  Shortly after that Debbie disappears.  Kidnapped...

All the traditional elements of a "typical Bagley" are here: an ordinary male protagonist, succesful in his job, thrown into an unexpected situation, doing well.  A fast-paced story, not very well defined characters except for the protagonist, a mixture between action and suspence, and a well documented setting." No big surprises really.

However, for me the big surprise is that this time it doesn't really work.  The plot is okay, be it a bit stretched here and there. The pace is okay, be it that there seems to be a lot to explain in the beginning, and not much time to put things in perspective near the end.  The characters are okay, be it that the crooks pay a little too little attention, Tom Mangan finds his way out of just about everything a bit too easily.

So, is this a bad story?  Not at all, craftsman Desmond Bagley still manages to turn this into a page-turner, it's just that one doesn't have to think too much, just gobble up the action.  Perfect for a long flight.  Towards the Bahamas maybe.