Publisher's Synopsis
Khalid has escaped from his unknown captors and by devious means discovers the whereabouts of Stratton's secret lair. Fortunately his arrival has been anticipated and following a violent struggle he is recaptured by 'Special Forces' personnel, aided by an unknown individual who appears on the scene unexpectedly. Arthur discovers an ancient mine working which gives access to Stratton's underground base and with the aid of the military he enters the cavern. Here the group discover a huge quantity of gold bars, still contained with wooden packing cases. Some cases have been forced open and are now empty. Someone, it seems, has already helped themselves to much of the gold. The question is, who? As well as how? Simon's suspicions that Stratton has other reasons besides gold, for hiding himself away in the cavern, gradually become justified. Stratton is suddenly attacked by an unknown race of people who use their ability to manipulate time, in an attempt to gain revenge on the deranged scientist. The attack is quickly concluded and the military as well as police take over the cavern. Stratton however, escapes through an obviously prearranged route and seems to vanish without trace. Sometime later a conference is held at police headquarters. Here both Stratton and Simon reveal their true identities. Once again, Stratton escapes, this time in spectacular fashion and yet he again eludes his pursuers. Eventually he is tracked to the Australian outback where he is killed when his light aircraft crashes during a storm. The question as to whether or not he was alone at the time proves tricky to answer with any degree of certainty. Even an Aboriginal tracker cannot be certain. But, the scenes he witnesses out in the remote outback would answer many questions!
