One of the greatest mysteries of our time is whereabouts of Mussolini's lost treasure, and Desmond Bagley is one of the very few men who have been anywhere near to solving it. In fact at one time he teamed up with a man, lone survivor of a group of partisans, who had actually hi-jacked the loot from a German S.S. convoy and stored it away in a secret hiding place.
Recovery would have been a straightforward operation, but the problem of smuggling four tons of gold, currency and precious stones out of Italy seemed insurmountable - until he hit on the ingenious idea which forms the basis of "The Golden Keel".
In this, his first novel, Desmond Bagley has reconstructed the actual disappearance of the treasure and has devised an enthralling work of fiction involving three mutually suspicious adventurers who sail to Italy in an ocean-going yacht to seek out this fabulous fortune. They must dispose of the missing millions under the noses of the Italian police, but they cannot shake off the fiery attentions of a beautiful Contessa, leader of a desperate band of gold-hungry ex-partisans.
Here is a tumultuous adventure in the grand old treasure-hunt tradition, crowded with the kind of full-blooded excitement that delights land-lubbers and sailing enthusiasts alike.