In this classical adventure story, we meet Charles Wilmore one morning after a long night of gambling. Still feeling the aftermath, he receives the letter of an old wartime acquaintance. Henry Phillips searches crew to sail his yacht from Wilhelmshaven, Germany, back to London.
Craving an adventure to disrupt his uneventful life, Charles takes up the offer. He remains clueless how life-changing his experience will turn out.
Soon it becomes clear Henry, the owner of the Bandit, is caught in a net of criminal activities. Charles, painfully reminded of his own small smuggling activities during the war, ignores this. Instead, he enjoys the trip along the Friesland coast.
But then, almost home and already in the Thames estuary, an old trawler takes an interest in the sailing yacht. All canvas set, the Bandit races for the safety the darkness of night and the tributaries of the river promise. Unfortunately, the luck of the unlikely team of wannabe-smugglers has run out.
Although a short story with only eight chapters, Thames is a passionate read set in the Europe of the fifties, still recovering from the Great War. The author takes us on a fast-paced sea adventure complete with salt spray, nazi gold and a long-lost love.
