Without a doubt, the author's best work till date. I just couldn't put this one down. A book that sucks you in from the very first line and does not allow you to breathe until the last page is turned. It was my bad luck that I picked it up on the day before my exam.

I'll still say that it was worth it!

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On the heels of the international bestseller Only Time Will Tell, Jeffrey Archer picks up the sweeping story of the Clifton Chronicles….

Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Harry Clifton, hoping to escape the consequences of long-buried family secrets, and forced to accept that his desire to marry Emma Barrington will never be fulfilled, has joined the Merchant Navy. But his ship is sunk in the Atlantic by a German U-boat, drowning almost the entire crew. An American cruise liner, the SS Kansas Star, rescues a handful of sailors, among them Harry and the third officer, an American named Tom Bradshaw. When Bradshaw dies in the night, Harry seizes on the chance to escape his tangled past and assumes his identity.

On landing in America, however, Bradshaw quickly learns the mistake he has made, when he discovers what is awaiting him in New York. Without any way of proving his true identity, Harry Clifton is now chained to a past that could be far worse than the one he had hoped to escape.

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The story takes off exactly where it had left us in Only Time Will Tell, with Harry being questioned by the police inspector after being arrested because he was impersonating Tom Bradshaw. In typical Archer style, it progresses quickly through various characters, frequently going back and forth in time. There is the prominent Barrington family with Giles as Harry's best friend and Emma, the mother of his child. Hugo, Emma's father, also plays an important role. In the Cliftons, we have Maisie who has enough complications of her own, the most important of which is not being able to read the very important letter on the mantle piece.

The best thing about the book is the multiple, seemingly unconnected threads that quickly pull themselves together to weave a fascinating yarn. The main plot is proving Harry's father was Arthur Clifton, not Hugo Barrington so that he can marry the love of his life, Emma. Another sub-story is Giles Barrington and his quest to prove himself. The second sub-story is how fate tosses and throws her around repeatedly. And the third sub-story is Hugo Barrington and his exploits. At his touch, gold turns to stone.

While this may sound confusing to somebody unaware of the author's work, regular readers would identify and be pulled in easily. It also didn't matter that I had read the prequel over a year ago. I was a little apprehensive that I may have forgotten the story, or the characters (because they were quite a lot). However, without seeming to talk of the past, the author gives enough information to recapitulate what happened so that the novel can also be read as a standalone.
When I talked to other readers about the book, some complained that it became irritating after a while when the point-of-view shifts. You are engrossed in Harry's story when suddenly Emma's will be started from two years ago. However, I feel that it builds the suspense and effectively keeps the reader turning the pages.

The ending, as expected, was completely unexpected. And abrupt. A cliffhanger that left me groaning when I turned the last page. I am buying the next in the series as soon as it hits the bookstores.