When four old friends, three of whom are retired ship’s captains, meet for a few days’ sailing and reminiscing, one of them, Mitchell, asks ‘did any of you run across Claude Bastable?’
Early in his seafaring life Mitchell had experienced more of the world than his friends. He had not only been ship-mate with Bastable but had found his life more entangled with Bastable’s than he cared for.
Finding the others know nothing of the man, Mitchell goes on to reveal the terrible story of Bastable’s life, from his birth as the son of a naval hero to the appalling act he had committed and of which he was found guilty, and of what followed afterwards.
But, they find themselves asking, was there anything that could explain Bastable’s perfidious conduct that led him to effectively murder a score of people by an act of gross professional misconduct?
Based on real events, bestselling author Richard Woodman skilfully weaves together fact and fiction to create an engrossing narrative which proves difficult to put down.
A novella not just for those who enjoy a tale of men, ships and the sea, but those interested in human motivation, the consequences of human frailty and violent events.