Can the Mediterranean be saved from the Fascists? Spain, 1939. The Civil War is ending; General Franco is in the ascendant. The defeated Republican forces retreat along the Costa Brava to France, pursued by the Fascist fleet, sent to bombard the coast. Hot-headed Catalan Angles Cusi, though, makes a desperate attempt against the Deutschland , pride of the German Navy - only to be interned when he escapes triumphant to France.Two years later, Naval Intelligence Commander Ian Fleming (of James Bond fame) learns some alarming news. Hitler wants Franco to join him in an invasion of Gibraltar - and if the Rock goes, the whole of the Mediterranean will fall prey to the Axis. Something must be done, and Cusi, now serving with the British Army, is the man to do it. The plan is a dangerous one, but it may be the Allies' only chance: with his old crew of Catalan volunteers, Cusi must assassinate Franco .

Duncan Harding is a pseudonym for Charles Whiting (1926-2007), who also wrote as Leo Kessler and John Kerrigan. Charles Whiting volunteered for the Army aged 16 in 1943, where he saw active service in Belgium, Holland and Germany with the 52nd Reconnaissance Regiment. He has over 350 books to his credit, encompassing military history, espionage, biography and action fiction and holds the Sir George Dowty Prize for Literature.