Clint is travelling on a small Cessna Citation over the Pacific. When the plane hits a pocket of turbulence, he is wrenched from his nap and plunged into a nightmare. The plane plummets into the ocean. Clint and one other passenger, a man named Carlos, survive. The hulk of the plane sinks, leaving them adrift with no land in sight. They fight to stay alive, but thirst and exhaustion overtake them. Purely by luck Clint finds himself washed ashore on a mysterious island. But where is Carlos? Did sharks get him? Did he drown? With survival foremost in his mind Clint finds clean water and fruit and a safe place to rest. Then Clint discovers the island is inhabited by other castaways, men who have been washed ashore on this unknown island over the years. One of the men is Andy, with whom Clint falls in love. Only much later does he discover Carlos’s fate, along with the fact that the island has more secrets to reveal. One that could cost him his life.

An Island, Lost

“Hang on. It’s not on any charts?”


“But how is that possible? I thought everything on the planet had been mapped, charted and photographed.”


A tall, stocky man with a moustache and single earring stepped forward.


“We reckon it’s got something to do with the magnetism of the island. Several of the blokes here…” He looked around at the men. “…remember their instruments going haywire before they crashed or sank or whatever. It doesn’t show up on radar, either.”


I wondered if they were having a laugh at my expense. I didn’t believe a word they were telling me. Or course, I couldn’t prove otherwise and their explanation didn’t really bother me one way or the other. It wasn’t going to help me get off the island.


“We’re all survivors of one kind or another,” said another man.


“Yes,” said Neil. “Statistically it makes sense. Most crews are male. Most pilots and boat owners are male. There was a woman, once, but she’s gone.”


Chapter 7