We find that the former Great War flying ace ''Max'' Maxted has enlisted under false colours in the spy ring run by German Fritz Lemmer, convinced that only Lemmer will lead him to the truth about the murder of his father.
The story renews surges on with Max's exciting first task from Lemmer: to visit the Scapa Flow and recover a secret document from one of the captured German battleships at anchor there. He is successful but chased south by desperate men ready to kill him for this document.
Soon he is back in all the diplomatic intrigue and espionage world surrounding the World War 1 peace talks in Paris, heading for the Treaty of Versailles.
The story brings in a large cast of characters and action that becomes ever more frenetic and rather smacks of a ''Bulldog'' Drummond or Boys' Own Paper adventure.
As in Vol.1 the story builds up to a big climax but there is no resolution; the reader must feel cheated by a final sentence: ''To be concluded''.
One imagines Max must pull through, but, after ploughing through two hefty volumes already I find myself in no mood to tackle a third lot (yet to be published) of this too wordy and complicated cloak-and-dagger stuff.
- Geoff Adams is a former ODT editor.
