It's a lucky, and in Lord Edward Corinth's view, lovely, coincidence that he is asked to be a protective presence to a British diplomat on the Queen Mary ship bound for the Americas at the same time that his lady, the feisty journalist Verity Browne, is also taking the trip to do some reports for the Communist Party.
But the trip soon turns very sour for him. Not only does Verity find her American Communist Party companion rather too fascinating for his liking, his charge is put at risk by a murder on board, there's some powerful passengers with explosive and controversial views, and then the ship hits very stormy waters, where everyone is vulnerable...
This is another great story from David Roberts, set in the lead up to the Second World War, with two main characters who never fail to keep your attention. Lord Edward, though an aristocratic gentleman and rather typically Eton-boy English, still makes mistakes and has to learn by them, which makes him much more human. And Verity, too, grows with each book, from a passionate rather single-sighted young woman into someone just as strong but rather more considering/considerate.
The setting gives the story a traditional locked-room-no-escape feel, and owing to the time of the voyage and their destination, a wisp of the fateful Titanic, too.