The Winds of Fortune

Most people in Aleksey Rider-Mikkelsen’s life would probably assert that at 50, honest living and sobriety were long overdue. But recovering in bed from the lingering after-effects of his leg injury, bored, in pain, and feeling entirely irrelevant, Aleksey doesn’t much care what Benjamin Rider-Mikkelsen thinks. He doesn’t appreciate the close monitoring either.

One day, Aleksey’s life will be calm and peaceful. He’s almost looking forward to it. But this isn’t yet that day. However, always on guard, always prepared for mischief conjured by the gods of chaos and chance, even he couldn’t have predicted that it would be Ben’s work with homeless veterans that would plunge them into a terrifying situation where the stakes are not just their lives, but the fate of the entire world.

When Aleksey lived in the shadows at the heart of the British Royal Family, he assumed he was the cuckoo in the nest, the one living a double life. He had no idea that he was surrounded by deceits even more deadly than his own. But now, buying Light Island has unearthed a long-buried secret so important that people are willing to kill for it.

Aleksey doesn't like helpful sayings. He particularly doesn't like Ben Rider-Mikkelsen pointing out that paranoid men can't see the wood for the trees. There's a truth to these wise words, however, that applies directly to him when you're paranoid that everyone is out to kill you, those who actually are can be easily overlooked. But for once, Aleksey ignores his instincts that something is threatening the family.

When you stop fighting windmills, imaginary or otherwise, you tend to end up with a lot of time on your hands. Of course, Aleksey Rider-Mikkelsen, Lord of Light Island, isn’t going to get bored. And if he did, he obviously wouldn’t join a preposterous hunt for sunken treasure with Ben and his annoying friends to keep himself entertained. He only has himself to blame, therefore, when a fun adventure suddenly turns deadly serious. There’s a reason some treasure should stay hidden.