About the Book

Enter a treasure-filled story. One packed with pirates, ghosts, and spies, and sprinkled liberally with a mysterious mixture of truth and lies.

Malcolm Westcott is a British merchant seaman now back on shore, who takes the job of renovating a derelict cottage on the edge of Dartmoor. It is there in a dusty attic that he makes an unexpected discovery.

He meets a stranger named Stamford, a beautiful Russian spy, and then encounters a series of strange events that appear to be a warning. Lacking perception, he fails to register their meaning, and it all ends in a frightening conclusion.

About the Author

Melvin Douglas Smart was born in Exeter, England. After studying electrical engineering in college, he became a ship’s radio officer and spent the next ten years serving in the merchant navy. He has two children from a previous marriage and in more recent years worked mostly within the defence industry. He is now retired and lives in the small village of Suares in Northern Spain.