Martin Billings goes to Venezuela to get some documents signed for a friend, but the man who is supposed to sign them has gone sailing. Martin finds his sailboat burning on a beach but it's too far gone to know if he was still in it. If he was, who left him there? And who is the mystery woman taking pictures of it? And why is an ex British spy interested in the man too? Martin needs to find some answers, and preferably before Ugly Bill gets too tired of him playing detective.