Though located in Cairo rather than coastal Morocco, this smoky, boozy cafe society also buzzes with the intrigues of complex personal alliances as World War II comes to North Africa. To give Bull his due, the military history of the Allies' fight against Rommel in Egypt and Libya appears to have been scrupulously researched. Bull's invented characters are strictly central casting. The girls are all beautiful, the boys strapping. The Englishmen are terribly tally-ho, the French smooth but slippery, the Egyptians vengeful.
Mercenaries have no national loyalties, but answer to a private code.
Our protagonist, Anton Rider, is a courageous safari hunter whose tracking and leadership skills make him invaluable to the Allies' war efforts even in middle age. The dashing renegade is, typically, undomesticated. A craving for adventure and wayward sexual proclivities have ruined his marriage to the love of his life, Gwenn, from whom he is separated. The estranged couple has two stalwart sons, the elder of whom forgoes university in England to sign up. Tall, exquisite, and virtuous, Gwenn does her bit for the Allies by working in a war hospital as a nurse in Alexandria.