London, 1980, 1st UK edition. 332 pp. Hardcover with dust jacket. Fine condition.

[Neate X168.] Espionage thriller set in the Himalayas. High in the Himalayas, a secret expedition runs a gauntlet of Chinese border patrols, the KGB, and treacherous terrain in a desperate bid to rescue an American general and a document the West must have.

 

Only the bait of such a strange and challenging mission could have lured Stirling out of his bitter self-exile from the British Secret Service. The letter reached him via the diplomatic bag from a remote village in the Himalayas. It hinted at a project of the utmost sensitivity—of an intense physical challenge in one of the world's most awesome settings. It would enable him to leave behind his crumbling marriage, gather pack and climbing gear, and, within a few days, under his old cover-name Carson, take the plane for Katmandu.

 

But those who seek trouble often find even more than they are looking for. Shadowed by the KGB, deeply suspicious of the beautiful New Zealand woman so eager to join his party, Stirling is almost relieved to reach the high Himalayas, which seem safer than civilization.

 

The rugged trek remorselessly tests him as he and his Tibetan guides try to elude both his pursuers and the Nepalese authorities, who have closed the routes into Tibet. There, on the vaulting, isolated cliffs of Rimring, is the monastery where an American general lies stranded with a broken back and a notebook full of priceless military secrets. Getting to Rimring is only the beginning. Getting back, with an injured man and intensified pursuit, will be harder. . .