A sort of shadowy Hammond Innes story has a southwest African setting and follows some rather unbelievable characters in untenable situations. And yet the story has some curiosity-catching moments. An old man has died in his remote desert shack and left a diary which the finder fails to read through before turning it over to the proper authorities. Suspicion, avarice and borderline madness create a string of crises and impasses. Unevenly written, but an adequate time-passer at that.