Ballantyne At Bay: Third in the James Ballantyne Series

In this third of the series, James Ballantyne, sacked from the Foreign Office for insubordination, joins the UN admin in Nairobi. He is pitched into a firefight on the Zimbabwe/Mozambique border and captured by the local warlord Gebral Amin. Blood diamonds are at stake and Gebral means to blackmail UN to stay away by holding Ballantyne hostage. Although he manages to escape, his trail is picked up by a hired assassin and a pursuit follows. Confrontation on the chase leads to a desperate struggle and a dead man. Back in Nairobi, a show trial set up by the Gebral accuses him of international espionage. Amin has manipulated the tribunal to convict James. With the help of Ana, a beautiful UN co-worker, he breaks out of prison and manages to reach the border with Mozambique where he can take a plane to the UK.

Homecoming is no hero's welcome. He has no address; his assets are just six blood diamonds he stole from Gebral and he is aware of interest from MI5. He holes up in central London and takes work driving loads for an unidentified employer, no questions asked. After a few tasks to test him, he discovers his boss is Diabla, the Spanish drug dealer who runs a transcontinental trade. She invites him to join a new enterprise-replacing the current illegal immigrant traffickers across the Channel, now that Brexit has completed. He agrees to help destroy the smugglers even though he realises she will replace the traffickers. By now, he faces up to the fact his values are slipping and his attraction for her has not diminished. They attack and destroy two smugglers craft, but reprisals include the torture and killing of two innocent people. Ballantyne organises an operation to obliterate the smugglers and an attack on their headquarters is mounted. Bloodshed and chaos occur with loss of life on both sides.

The aftermath brings unexpected consequences for him and he faces new challenges. Can he survive?