Not the type to shy away either from posh

surroundings or from a game with high

stakes, Philis-the wisecracking super-

agent hailed as "the latter-day James

Bond" by The New York Times Book Re-

view--is only too happy to accept his boss

Pawson s invitation to join him in a game

of bridge at an exclusive club. Certain that

he stands to win o great deal of money,

Philis instead suffers surprising reverses by

the end that leave him more in debt than

he thought possible. What to do? Pawson,

ever-resourceful, comes up with a solution

that gives Philis his first taste of gainful em-

ployment outside SR(2), the top-secret

branch of British intelligence.

As it happens, Pawson and SR(2) owe a

few favors to Simon Denny, an oil million-

aire whose daughter has recently disap-

peared. On the face of it, the case is

simple enough: locate a college giri who

left school without a trace. The only catch

is that the best private detective agency in

the country hasn t been able to find her.

Never one to confine himself to conven-

tional methods, Philis is undaunted in his

pursuit of Vanessa Denny. When he comes

within an inch of losing his life, he knows

he~s on the right trail-one that lands him

in the middle of a dangerous cult that has

left terror and destruction in its wake on

more than one continent. Unless he plays

his cards right this time, Philis isn t likely to

come out alive.