Alistair MacLean · 1977 · sea

Alistair MacLean's 1977 thriller. Lord Worth's drilling platform, the Seawitch, sits in the Gulf of Mexico producing oil that a cartel of rivals would rather did not exist. They intend to destroy her, and the men Worth sends out to hold the rig are outnumbered, out-armed, and a long way from anybody who could help.

1. 1
   Fort Lauderdale

   On the Florida coast, the oil billionaire Lord Worth learns that a consortium of his competitors has decided the Seawitch should stop producing - and that they have hired professionals rather than lawyers to arrange it.

2. 2
   The Gulf of Mexico

   The attack comes by sea and air across open water, with a submarine, a hijacked tug and explosives - and the Gulf is wide enough that whatever happens out there will be over before anyone ashore knows it started.

3. 3
   The Seawitch

   On the platform itself, a handful of men hold a steel island against a small private army - and the fight is conducted with the entirely practical understanding that a burning rig would kill everyone standing on it.