HIJACKED!

When Jason Wright, fourteen-year-old potential Olympic swimmer, ends his holiday visit to his parents in Hong Kong early to return to school in England, his plane is hijacked, apparently, by members of the Japanese Rengo Sekigun (United Red Army of Lod Airport infamy). They land on a strip of beach in Thailand, and after watching the hijackers brutalize other passengers and crew members, Jason determines to try to get help, escaping through a lavatory panel into the sea. Jason is forced to kill a pursuer with a fortuitously found dart gun; he later joins the Thai in charge of operations, two Japanese detectives, and English communications and airline representatives. The author is meticulous in detailing every contingency and convolution, almost as if he were afraid Jason's involvement would otherwise seem implausible. The result is a surprisingly unsensationalized adventure.