Jack Higgins · 1979 · thriller

Jack Higgins's 1979 thriller, built on a real German scheme. In the summer of 1940 the Duke of Windsor is in Portugal, waiting for a ship to the Bahamas, and Berlin sees an opportunity: persuade him to stay in Europe, or take him. Walter Schellenberg is sent to Lisbon to do it, and London has very little time to work out what is being attempted.

1. 1
   Paris

   With France fallen, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor leave a Europe in which they have become an embarrassment to everyone - and Berlin begins to consider what a compliant ex-king might be worth if the invasion of Britain succeeds.

2. 2
   Madrid

   The route out runs through Spain, where German intelligence has the run of the place and intermediaries can plant suggestions - that England is not safe, that the Bahamas is exile, that other arrangements are possible.

3. 3
   Estoril

   At a villa at Estoril the Duke waits for his ship, surrounded by servants, well-wishers and watchers of three nationalities - and Schellenberg arrives to arrange a persuasion or an abduction, whichever proves easier.

4. 4
   Lisbon

   Lisbon in 1940 is neutral, crowded and entirely for sale, and the last act is played out between its hotels and the quayside - with a liner waiting and a very short time to decide what a king is worth.