Helm is given the job of escorting a US citizen, a witness, from a small Mexican town back to the US. The witness seems to be wanted by the Russians who have brought out one of their big guns, Vadya, a player in a couple of other books. Helm is not a bodyguard. The witness will either make it back to the proper authorities in the US or be killed by Helm.

It was a fine book in so many ways. UFO's are the major theme & so well done, that it is fantastic. It's not SF, just pure trickery, murder & mayhem. Helm at his best. There are several scenes, especially one in a plane, that epitomize the hero. Several other things happen & a couple of new characters are introduced that are used later on in the series, so this is a must read. ( )

Sub-par outing for America's greatest spy and cold-blooded killer. Hamilton gives the impression of making this one up as he goes along. The shallow tale of flying saucers blasting innocent people with death rays - or at least that's what the witnesses say - never really gets off the ground. Hamilton doesn't help things by killing off his most interesting characters before they can entertain us. There are some effective scenes, particularly one in an airplane, but this one lacks any real narrative thrust or compelling plot line where we can't wait to get to the end to see what happens. There remains the usual pleasure in Helm's thought processes and in his disregard for danger. And he even gets to kill a woman for wearing pants in this one - so it isn't a total waste of time.... ( )