Malaya, November 1941 Major Nairns, former tea planter and now Acting Major in the Malaya Scouts, is on an intelligence patrol on the country's border with Siam when he stumbles on a Japanese seaplane reconnaissance base. With international unrest looming, Nairns' instincts tell him they are up to no good.Further surveillance reveals the Japanese plan to eliminate any British ship which might interfere with their proposed landing on the outbreak of war. There is only one such ship at risk: the brand-new, 'unsinkable' HMS Prince of Wales .In a desperate race against time, Nairns sets out to warn the authorities, pursued by the feared Colonel Moto and his secret kemptei police. If Nairns fails, there will be nothing to stop the Japanese taking over the whole Peninsula .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.