Griffin's characters in this novel are somewhat romantic and romanticized.

It's rare in the novel, and in most Griffin novels, to see an unintelligent, venal, unattractive main character (though some main, often enemy, characters and peripheral characters are so portrayed).

Richard Canidy is a Navy flier with an eye for the ladies and a very pragmatic outlook. To him, flying is a way to make money before he starts a job as an aeronautical engineer for Boeing Aircraft.

There is little pretense and patriotism about Canidy; he is somewhat of a rake, and in typical Griffin fashion, he comes from a respectable background and has friends who are very well-off. Also like the typical Griffin hero, he knows what he is doing; he is efficient, effective, fun-loving, and a little dangerous. This self-assurance, plus his implicit acquiescence at the end of the novel to remain an agent of...