Moonraker / Ian Fleming

At M’s request, Bond goes up against Sir Hugo Drax at the card table in an exclusive London club to prevent him from cheating. For Drax – a self-made multi-millionaire with a shadowy past – has put up ten million pounds to develop a super atomic rocket, and his exposure as a cheat would threaten Britain’s latest defence system. Assisted by Gala Brand, Bond delves deeper into goings on at the Moonraker base, but it seems that someone wants him out of the way...