High Water at Four

It’s 1965, the Iron Curtain is up and Lieutenant-Commander Peter Millerton is down.

Court-martialled and exiled from his ship, hounded by the press, abandoned by his fiancée, it seems like nothing can go right.

But one stroke of luck might save him: Stelios Alexiou, powerful Greek owner of two oil tankers, seems to have a soft spot for Peter and offers him a cruise on one of his oil tankers in return for an undisclosed favour.

Peter is in no position to refuse generosity, no matter how unusual it seems; but as he steps aboard the Empress of Samothrace, he hardly imagines that a dangerous journey lies ahead.

Things are off to a bumpy start when he ends up enraging the ship’s radio officer but at least he’s won over the captain.

But when the Empress reaches Albania and ducks beneath the Iron Curtain, things turn sinister.

The port is run by former SS officer Colonel Otto who takes an uncomfortable interest in Peter and seems to be driving Peter into the arms of the beautiful and mysterious Ilona.

Despite his captain’s warnings, Peter is drawn to Ilona, who seems so familiar to him.

As the ship is delayed again and again in Albania and Otto’s excuses grow thinner it seems clear there is a plan at play…

But how is Ilona involved?

High Water at Four is a gripping literary thriller set against a military backdrop with an intriguing love story.

Praise for Jerrard Tickell:

“Mr Tickell has a light touch and a delicate feeling for emotional relationships.” The Times Literary Supplement

“Mr Tickell is a kind of light John Buchan, and there is more room for more authors of his quality.” Daily Telegraph

The Odyssey Press is a literary imprint of Endeavour Press – the UK’s leading independent digital publisher. We publish new and classic literary fiction, literary biographies and works with literary tropes and themes.