Several months after the end of the Third World War – won thanks to the Swordfishes, the formidable jet bombers designed by Professor Mortimer – England is dismantling its base in the Makran, from which the final counter-attack was launched, and where the surviving airplanes are still kept. But in the shadows, devious schemes are being hatched, and while Mortimer is busy preparing his Swordfishes for repatriation, Blake is in Ireland, where rumour has it the IRA has some sinister plans – a...

1946: The Dutch have been driven out of Indonesia by the Japanese invasion, but they refuse to recognize the country's declaration of independence. In an attempt to regain their former colony, the government mobilizes the Royal Dutch Indian Army. When they fail to take control, an unofficial force is sent to subdue the "terrorists." Among the volunteers is Johan Knevel, who has personal reasons for joining: he wants to find out what happened to his Indonesian nurse. But far from rediscover...

1946: The Dutch have been driven out of Indonesia by the Japanese invasion, but they refuse to recognize the country's declaration of independence. In an attempt to regain their former colony, the government mobilizes the Royal Dutch Indian Army. When they fail to take control, an unofficial force is sent to subdue the "terrorists." Among the volunteers is Johan Knevel, who has personal reasons for joining: he wants to find out what happened to his Indonesian nurse. But far from rediscover...

Strange events are plaguing the North Sea: animals dying in large groups, unexplained light phenomena, abnormal seismic activity, even several ships found with their crew inexplicably dead … When a tsunami strikes the eastern coast of Scotland before Mortimer’s very eyes, things become clear: something is happening below the surface. The two heroes will have to face a dark threat coming from an ancient civilisation that they believed had departed the Earth.

World War Three is over. Basam Damdu has been defeated. England can breathe and begin the rebuilding process … or so it thinks. In China, unfortunately, Mao’s Communists keep bowling over Chiang Kai-shek’s troops, and are threatening Hong Kong. And General Xi-Lee, a ruthless warlord, has dreams of becoming the new Qin Shi Huang – first Emperor of China. When a relic of that very emperor is discovered by an acquaintance of Mortimer, things take a turn for the worst …

Mortimer is brought to the camp of General Li Hsi, the Chinese warlord, where he is reunited with a seriously injured Nasir. The professor was kidnapped in order to recover the archaeological proof of the general’s imperial lineage, but also to repair the Red Wing, a formidable combat aircraft Olrik unwittingly delivered. While Blake moves heaven and earth to find him and protect Hong Kong, Mortimer escapes to go in search of the only thing that can save Nasir: a legendary pearl …