Louis L'Amour's long-lost first novel, faithfully completed by his
son, takes readers on a voyage into danger and violence on the high
seas.
Fate is a ship.
As the shadows of World War II gather, the SS Lichenfield is westbound
across the Pacific carrying eighty thousand barrels of highly explosive
naphtha. The cargo alone makes the journey perilous, with the entire
crew aware that one careless moment could lead to disaster.
But yet another sort of peril haunts the Lichenfield. Even beyond
their day-to-day existence, the lives of the crew are mysteriously
intertwined. Though each has his own history, dreams and jealousies,
longing and rage, all are connected by a deadly web of chance and
circumstance.
Some are desperately fleeing the past; others chase an unknown destiny.
A few are driven by the desire for adventure, while their shipmates
cling to the Lichenfield as their only true home. In their hearts,
these men, as well as the women and children they have left behind,
carry the seeds of salvation or destruction. And all of them--kind or
cruel, strong or broken--are bound to the fate of the vessel that
carries them toward an ever-darkening horizon.
Inspired by Louis L'Amour's own experiences as a merchant seaman, No
Traveller Returns is a revelatory work by a world-renowned author--and
a brilliant illustration of a writer discovering his literary voice.
