Hostage. London: Geoffrey Household

What happens when a terrorist decides to pull out

Julian Despard is a cell-leader in the ruthless international revolutionary organisation MAGMA. As one of MAGMA`s leading activists, he has been responsible for many daring operations, including the recent hijacking of an arms shipment in the Mediterranean.

But then Despard finds out that the cargo he stole was not conventional weaponry but nuclear material. And that the MAGMA leadership intends to use it for a devastating attack on London. Sickened, Despard makes a dramatic personal decision to begin a bloody last-minute mission of his own, only to find himself hunted by both MAGMA gunmen and the police in a race against time to stop certain destruction...