Deep under Sao Miguel island, rumoured to be the last emerging part of Atlantis, Professor Mortimer has discovered samples of a mysterious radioactive metal. Could it be the Atlanteans’ legendary orichalcum? When he and his friend Blake set out on an expedition into the depths to find out, sabotage occurs in the form of their old opponent Olrik. And soon, all three will be embroiled in a power struggle far bigger in scope than they could have imagined.

In Venice, a boating accident leads to the discovery of a 400 year old text bearing the signature ‘W.S.’ and promising the truth about the ‘Shakespeare mystery’. That very night, someone tries unsuccessfully to steal the precious document. The discoverer, Marquis Stefano Da Spiri, decides to send a copy of the document to a specialist of the Bard in London for stylistic authentication. As for the original, he entrusts it to an old comrade in arms from WW2: Captain Francis Blake...

In a past almost, but not entirely, like ours, the world lives in dread of a new power, an empire centred in Tibet and led by a megalomaniac. When the inevitable attack comes, it destroys all opposition, and capital cities across the planet are left burning. But, in Great Britain, Professor Mortimer, inventor of a mysterious weapon named the Swordfish, and his friend and protector Captain Blake, have escaped the destruction, and must make their way to a secret base...

World War Three is over. Basam Damdu has been defeated. England can breathe and begin the rebuilding process ... or so it thinks. In China, unfortunately, Mao’s Communists keep bowling over Chiang Kai-shek’s troops, and are threatening Hong Kong. And General Xi-Lee, a ruthless warlord, has dreams of becoming the new Qin Shi Huang – first Emperor of China. When a relic of that very emperor is discovered by an acquaintance of Mortimer, things take a turn for the worst ...

1919. Colonel Lawrence – Lawrence of Arabia – has an unpleasant meeting with an MI5 agent who confiscates his manuscript of The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. 35 years later, Oxford is shaken by a series of burglaries at the Ashmolean Museum, at the same time as Blake learns of the death of an old friend. The captain begins an investigation, while Mortimer looks into the thefts... But what dark connection does all of this have with Lawrence or Blake’s own past?

Several months after the end of the Third World War – won thanks to the Swordfishes, the formidable jet bombers designed by Professor Mortimer – England is dismantling its base in the Makran, from which the final counter-attack was launched, and where the surviving airplanes are still kept. But in the shadows, devious schemes are being hatched, and while Mortimer is busy preparing his Swordfishes for repatriation, Blake is in Ireland, where rumour has it the IRA has some sinister plans – and even worse allies ...

Tasked by the queen to close the ‘Septimus Wave’ case once and for all, Captain Blake is facing a daunting task, for many questions remain unanswered. Where did the spaceship buried beneath London come from? What became of Lady Rowana and Professor Evangely? Meanwhile, Mortimer is trying to pull Olrik out of the catatonic state the villain has been in since his encounter with the ship’s occupant. Has the threat to the nation truly been vanquished?