Wilbur Smith · 1971 · thriller

Wilbur Smith's 1971 adventure. When the old king of a diamond empire dies, his two foster sons are set against each other for the company, the fortune and the woman they both want. From the boardrooms of Cape Town to the forbidden diamond coast of the Namib and a dredger working the Skeleton Coast surf, the feud turns murderous.

1. 1
   Cape Town

   With the death of the man who built the Van Der Byl diamond empire, his foster sons - the straight-dealing Johnny Lance and the poisonous Benedict - fight in the Cape Town boardrooms for the company and for Tracey.

2. 2
   Oranjemund

   North to Oranjemund at the mouth of the Orange, gateway to the Sperrgebiet - the forbidden diamond coast, fenced and patrolled, where the stones lie in the gravel and a man can lose his life for a handful of them.

3. 3
   Walvis Bay

   At Walvis Bay, Johnny fits out the great sea-going dredger Kingfisher, staking everything on the gamble that the richest diamond ground of all lies not on the land at all, but under the surf beyond it.

4. 4
   The Skeleton Coast

   Off the Skeleton Coast, where the cold current meets the desert and wrecks litter the sand, the Kingfisher works the sea bed in rising seas - and the feud between the brothers comes to its violent end in the fog.