In another hair-raising black-and-white noir from Alan Furst, World War II is the backdrop, and preventing the enemy from sinking any more merchant ships is the point: in two years, the Allies have lost nearly 1600 vessels. A Dutch ship docked in Tangier, recruited by British intelligence and disguised as a neutral Spanish freighter carrying sardines and cooking oil, is sent to Portugal to pick up some sophisticated espionage technology. Then, under the command of its Dutch captain, Eric DeHaan, the ship--with a passenger list that includes a Russian beauty and a Greek stowaway--will carry a group of commandos on a harrowing voyage to Tunisia, where they hope to destroy the Nazi stronghold--if they arent destroyed first by a mine or a submarine....