Julia Probyn-an old friend of many readers-is sailing off the west coast of Scotland. On the desolate island of Erinish Beg, she and her cousin are startled to see a sky-blue pole rise up out of the ground at their feet. Military Intelligence sends Colonel Jamieson to investigate this find. The action moves from the Erinishes to a tweed-shop in Tobermory, an archaeological dig on Lewis, an island off the County Mayo, and finally to a dramatic end in the Scillies. The mystery of the sky-blue pole is solved soon enough; but there is much journeying, heart-searching and danger for Julia...

In Julia Probyn's fifth adventure, first published in 1965, Julia moves to a remote French mountain village near the Spanish border, while her husband, a British Intelligence agent, is on a secret assignment. As always, adventures comes Julia's way. A sabotage plot is underway, with France's gas reserved being targeted. Julia is six months pregnant as the plot unfolds, and her early labor creates additional suspense.

Boy and man take to each other, and it becomes clear that Gerald will be an ideal stepfather. On his part, Gerald insists that she come to Ireland to see his modest...

"When Julia undertakes to find her cousin, Colin Munro, last heard of sailing a yacht off the north coast of Africa, the quest seems lighthearted enough. But the search gets her involved with Moorish antique dealers, a Belgian woman archaeologist, Purcell, the enigmatic barkeeper, and American airman, the saurian Mr. St. John, and numerous other characters charming or sinister. Julia's search takes her a cargo-boart to Casablanca, Tangier, Fez and Marrakech. Her 'dumb-blonde' beauty, camouflaging a lively intelligence, gets her through unexpected difficulties and dangers.

The first...

The last thing recently widowed Julia Probyn expects to find on the lush and charming island of Madeira is a clue to her husband's mysterious death, for Colonel Jamieson perished somewhere in the wilds of Central Asia while on a top-secret mission for British Intelligence. No sooner does Julia arrive at Madeira with her infant son and his devoted Nanny, however, than a series of strange, sinister, but apparently unconnected events begins thrusting itself upon her.

Displaying her usual intuitive flair for deduction, Julia soon concludes that, for some reason, the Russians are...

Julia Probyn, like most people, knew very little about anonymous numbered accounts in Swiss Banks. Until her cousin, Colin Munro, asked her to look into the matter of one containing a fortune, for his fiancee Aglaia Armitage, left to her by her Greek grandfather. Then Julia learned a great deal.

But besides bonds and debentures, old Mr. Thalassides, proved to have left documents of vital interest to the British Secret Service, and to other Powers as well, in the vault with them. When these disappear, the hunt begins...

Ann Bridge brings her characteristic wit, suspense and...