Banker John Putnam Thatcher proves he is just as able a financier and detective on the international scene as in his native USA Dispatched to the western Baltic on the rumour that an excellent investment opportunity might arise - the possibility of rebuilding the Kiel Canal - Thatcher finds himself in the midst of two quite extraordinary events The first is the complete chaos that ensues when the canal becomes completely ensnarled in fog, with hundreds of boats blindly stumbling every which way The other is the murder of an official of the Baltic Area Development Association during a champagne party