International intrigue is at the heart of the plot which joins Emma Cross, former CIA operative and now with St. Kilda’s Consulting, and Mackenzie Durand, former Special Ops leader, the only survivor of his team in its last mission. Now a transit captain, he picks up a brand new yacht, the Blackbird, offloaded from a container ship to bring to a small port where it is to be fitted out. Meanwhile, Emma has been looking for the yacht’s twin, the Black Swan, for an insurance company since its disappearance.
The two are thrown together when all the intelligence agencies pick up vibes of an impending terrorist act against a major U.S. urban center. It is not known whether the threat is biological, chemical or nuclear. So Mackenzie becomes the captain of the Blackbird, with Emma as “first mate,” on a voyage through the inland passageway on the West Coast of Canada, ostensibly to bring the ship to its new owner. It is quite a trip.
The descriptions of the passageway, the tides, weather and difficulties of steering a ship under various conditions are graphic and exciting. And despite all the dangers from the sea and adversaries, love finds a way.
Recommended.
