Havana Steam Laundry

Nick Jones' sixth book is set in Havana, Cuba. It is the early heady days of Fidel Castro's return to power, after his self-imposed exile in the Sierra Maestra mountains. The island's despotic dictator Fulgencio Batista has fled to Madeira, taking with him a huge tranche of Cuba's national reserves (in gold bullion), much of it based on commissions from Mob-run casinos.

Ricki Griffiths, a foot-loose Welsh beachcomber, is recruited by the proprietor of the city's legendary Havana Steam Laundry to fly to Florida to rescue her niece Rosita, who has been 'trafficked' into domestic slavery in Miami. The pair successfully return to Havana, only to be confronted by a disastrous fire which all but destroys the old Laundry.

Che Guava has a small cameo role in the story, architect of the famous Santa Clara Tren Blindado (armed train) high-jacking, regarded as even more audacious than the Great Train Robbery. Cuba's intoxicating music pervades the story throughout (Miles Davis, Stan Getz and of course the totemic Buena Vista Social Club). Followers of American baseball will enjoy the story's conclusion.