The classic tale of suspense set in Provence, where an English tourist investigates a series of mysterious deaths, from the acclaimed master of action and suspense.

From all over Europe, even from behind the Iron Curtain, gypsies make an annual pilgrimage to the holy shrine of their patron saint in Provence. But something is different about this year's gathering; this year people are dying.

Cecile Dubois and Neil Bowman are also in Provence, and discover that someone is financing the gypsies. What is the secret they are so determined to hide? As they follow the caravan, Bowman and Cecile come too close to it for safety, and before long are running for their lives.

Alistair MacLean, the son of a Scots minister, was brought up in the Scottish Highlands. In 1941 he joined the Royal Navy. After the war he read English at Glasgow University and became a schoolmaster. The two and a half years he spent aboard a wartime cruiser were to give him the background for HMS Ulysses, his remarkably successful first novel, published in 1955. He is now recognized as one of the outstanding popular writers of the 20th century, the author of 29 worldwide bestsellers, many of which have been filmed.