An Unusual Invitation

Alexander McAuliff, a skilled American geologist, is summoned to London by the enigmatic Julian Warfield of Dunstone, Limited. Warfield offers him an extraordinary contract: two million dollars, tax-free, to lead a secret geological survey in Jamaica. The only catch is absolute secrecy—no one, not even his team, can know who is truly behind the project or its real purpose. Warfield's insistence on confidentiality, the oddities in the arrangements, and the sheer scale of the payment all hint at something far more complex than a simple survey. McAuliff, driven by ambition and haunted by personal loss, accepts, not realizing he's stepping into a web of global intrigue.

Secrets and Surveillance

As McAuliff prepares for the survey, he is shadowed by British Intelligence, represented by the precise and quietly forceful R.C. Hammond. Hammond reveals that a previous survey team vanished—presumed murdered—and that Dunstone is not just a company, but a front for a shadowy international cartel seeking to control Jamaica for its own ends. Hammond pressures McAuliff to act as a double agent, warning that both Dunstone and its unknown adversaries are deadly. The word "Halidon" surfaces as a cryptic clue, and McAuliff is forced to navigate a world where every ally may be a spy, and every move is watched.

The Deadly Offer

The deeper McAuliff delves, the more he realizes he cannot simply walk away. Warfield's offer is a golden cage: the money is already transferred, and any attempt to back out would make him a target for both Dunstone and its enemies. Hammond, meanwhile, makes it clear that British Intelligence will not protect him unless he cooperates fully. McAuliff is forced to accept his role as a pawn in a high-stakes game, with his life and the lives of his future team hanging in the balance.

British Intelligence Intervenes

As McAuliff assembles his team—experts in geology, botany, and local culture—he is forced to vet them not just for skill, but for loyalty and hidden motives. British Intelligence, Dunstone, and other shadowy interests all try to plant their own agents among his crew. Alison Booth, a brilliant geologist with a troubled past, becomes both a professional asset and a personal connection for McAuliff. The team's composition is a delicate balance of expertise, trust, and suspicion, with each member carrying secrets that could tip the scales.

Assembling the Team

McAuliff's team includes the reliable Sam Tucker, the married Jensen couple, the enigmatic Charles Whitehall, the young botanist James Ferguson, and Alison Booth. Each has their own reasons for joining, and several are being manipulated by outside forces—Interpol, Dunstone, or British Intelligence. The process of selection is fraught with hidden agendas, as McAuliff tries to ensure the team's safety and integrity while knowing that betrayal could come from any quarter.

Shadows in Jamaica

The team's arrival in Jamaica is marked by immediate complications: missing luggage, mysterious messages, and the disappearance of Sam Tucker. McAuliff and Alison are surveilled, their rooms bugged, and their movements tracked by both local and international operatives. The political and social tensions of Jamaica—its history of colonialism, poverty, and secret societies—form a volatile backdrop. The survey's true purpose remains hidden, and the threat of violence is ever-present.

The Disappeared and the Dead

As the team begins its work, the dangers become real. Sam Tucker reappears after being abducted by a group claiming to be the Halidon, a legendary secret society. Walter Piersall, an anthropologist who tried to warn McAuliff, is killed in a staged accident. The team is infiltrated by spies and double agents, and McAuliff must navigate a maze of shifting loyalties. The mysterious Halidon emerges as both a threat and a possible ally, its motives and power unclear.

Layers of Deceit

The survey progresses, but the team is beset by betrayals. James Ferguson is blackmailed by the Craft Foundation, the Jensens are revealed as Warfield's loyal operatives, and Alison's past as an Interpol informant comes to light. McAuliff is forced to confront the reality that he is surrounded by people with conflicting loyalties, and that the true enemy may be closer than he thinks. The Halidon's influence grows, and the lines between friend and foe blur.

Into the Cock Pit

The survey moves into the Cock Pit, a remote and dangerous region controlled by the Maroons and rumored to be the domain of the Halidon. The jungle is both a physical and psychological barrier, filled with natural hazards and the ever-present threat of ambush. The team's progress is monitored by both Dunstone's mercenaries and the Halidon's agents. The search for the meaning of "Halidon" becomes a quest for survival, as the team is hunted and the true stakes of the survey are revealed.

The Halidon's Cry

McAuliff is taken to the hidden community of the Halidon, a self-sufficient, secretive society descended from runaway slaves and African mystics. The Halidon possess immense wealth and influence, using it to shape events in Jamaica and beyond. Their power is rooted in secrecy, tradition, and a willingness to kill to protect their way of life. McAuliff learns that the survey was a pretext for Dunstone to locate and seize the Halidon's resources, and that he has been used as bait in a deadly game.

Betrayals and Alliances

As Dunstone's mercenaries close in, the team is forced to fight for their lives. Betrayals are exposed: the Jensens flee, Ferguson defects, and Whitehall and Lawrence—representing rival Jamaican factions—must work together to survive. The Halidon, through their leader Daniel, offer McAuliff a deal: the list of Dunstone's secret backers in exchange for the withdrawal of all foreign intelligence from Jamaica. The price of survival is complicity in a new order.

The Final Confrontation

The climax unfolds in a night of violence as McAuliff, Tucker, Whitehall, and Lawrence battle Dunstone's killers in the Cock Pit. The team's survival depends on trust, skill, and the willingness to kill. The Halidon's power is demonstrated in a global wave of assassinations, targeting the corrupt elite behind Dunstone. The old order is shattered, and the survivors must choose their allegiances in a new, uncertain Jamaica.

The Price of Freedom

With Dunstone dismantled and the Halidon's existence still secret, McAuliff and Alison are finally free—at least for now. The survivors go their separate ways: Whitehall and Lawrence return to their rival causes, the Jensens disappear, and Sam Tucker finds a new home. McAuliff and Alison, forever changed, leave Jamaica behind, knowing that freedom comes at a price—and that the world's true powers are those who remain unseen.

Characters

Alexander McAuliff

McAuliff is a brilliant but emotionally scarred geologist, driven by ambition and the trauma of personal loss. His outsider status makes him both a target and a tool for the powerful forces vying for control of Jamaica. Initially motivated by money and the promise of independence, he is forced into a role as double agent, navigating a labyrinth of deceit, violence, and shifting loyalties. Over the course of the novel, McAuliff evolves from a passive participant to an active force, making hard choices and ultimately seeking a kind of moral clarity in a world where none is offered.

Alison Booth

Alison is a top geologist with a painful past—her marriage to a criminal, her recruitment by Interpol, and her manipulation by intelligence agencies. She is both a professional equal and a romantic partner to McAuliff, and her presence complicates his loyalties. Alison's journey is one of reclaiming agency: from being used as bait to asserting her own choices, she embodies the struggle for autonomy in a world of manipulation.

R.C. Hammond

Hammond is the face of British Intelligence: precise, cold, and deeply pragmatic. He recruits McAuliff as an unwilling asset, using threats and half-truths to keep him in line. Hammond's own position is precarious—he is both a manipulator and a pawn, ultimately outmaneuvered by the Halidon and forced to confront the limits of his power. His relationship with McAuliff is adversarial but tinged with reluctant respect.

Julian Warfield

Warfield is the architect of Dunstone's plot to seize control of Jamaica. He is charming, persuasive, and utterly amoral, using money, blackmail, and violence to achieve his ends. Warfield's power is rooted in his ability to manipulate others, but his downfall comes from underestimating the forces he seeks to control. He is both a symbol of global capitalism's dark side and a tragic figure undone by his own hubris.

Charles Whitehall

Whitehall is a scholar and political agitator, torn between his intellectual ideals and his desire for power. He is both ally and rival to McAuliff, representing the complexities of postcolonial identity and the dangers of fanaticism. Whitehall's relationship with Lawrence, his revolutionary counterpart, is one of mutual contempt and reluctant cooperation. He is a survivor, willing to use any means to achieve his vision for Jamaica.

Sam Tucker

Tucker is McAuliff's oldest friend and most reliable ally, a seasoned field man with a deep sense of loyalty and a longing for belonging. He provides stability and practical wisdom, serving as both protector and conscience for McAuliff. Tucker's journey is one of finding a place to call home, even as the world around him descends into chaos.

Lawrence

Lawrence is a young Jamaican guerrilla, fiercely committed to his cause but lacking the experience and cynicism of his elders. He is both a protector and a symbol of the island's future—capable of violence, but also of growth and change. His alliance with Whitehall is uneasy, reflecting the fractured nature of Jamaican politics.

Peter and Ruth Jensen

The Jensens are a married couple whose loyalty to Warfield and Dunstone is born of gratitude and necessity. They are skilled professionals, but their past mistakes and dependence on Dunstone make them dangerous. Their ultimate betrayal and flight reflect the costs of complicity and the impossibility of true neutrality.

James Ferguson

Ferguson is a brilliant but insecure botanist, blackmailed by the Craft Foundation and caught between competing interests. His desire for recognition and financial security makes him vulnerable to exploitation, and his eventual defection is both a personal tragedy and a commentary on the corrosive effects of power.

Daniel (Minister of the Halidon)

Daniel is the public face of the secret society, embodying its blend of tradition, pragmatism, and ruthlessness. He is both a visionary and a realist, willing to use violence to protect his people but also committed to a higher ideal. Daniel's interactions with McAuliff and Hammond reveal the limits of power and the dangers of absolute secrecy.

Plot Devices

Double and Triple Agents

The novel's central device is the constant uncertainty about who is working for whom. Every character is potentially a double or triple agent, and McAuliff must navigate a world where loyalty is provisional and betrayal is expected. This device creates a pervasive atmosphere of paranoia and suspense, forcing both protagonist and reader to question every motive and action.

The MacGuffin: The Halidon

The Halidon is the novel's central mystery—a legendary, possibly mythical organization that holds the key to Jamaica's future. Its true nature is revealed gradually, through clues, betrayals, and direct encounters. The search for the Halidon drives the plot, serving as both a literal and symbolic quest for power, identity, and meaning.

Foreshadowing and Misdirection

Ludlum uses foreshadowing to create a sense of impending doom: the fate of the previous survey team, the cryptic warnings, the unexplained disappearances. Misdirection is used to keep both McAuliff and the reader off-balance, with apparent allies revealed as enemies and vice versa. The true nature of the Halidon, Dunstone, and British Intelligence is only revealed in stages, maintaining suspense.

The Isolated Setting

The physical isolation of the Cock Pit and the dense jungles of Jamaica mirror the psychological isolation of the characters. The setting is both beautiful and deadly, a place where secrets can be hidden and violence can erupt without warning. The landscape becomes a character in its own right, shaping the actions and fates of those within it.

The Global Conspiracy

The plot is driven by the machinations of global powers—corporations, intelligence agencies, secret societies—all seeking to control Jamaica for their own ends. The local is inseparable from the global, and the fate of the island becomes a microcosm of the struggle for power in the modern world.

Analysis

The Cry of the Halidon is more than a thriller; it is a complex exploration of how power operates in the shadows—through corporations, intelligence agencies, and secret societies. Ludlum uses the structure of a spy novel to interrogate the legacies of colonialism, the dangers of unchecked ambition, and the moral ambiguities of loyalty and betrayal. The Halidon itself is both a symbol of resistance and a warning about the perils of absolute secrecy and self-righteous violence. The novel's ultimate lesson is that freedom—personal, political, or national—comes at a price, and that the true struggle is not between good and evil, but between competing visions of justice, belonging, and survival. In a world where every alliance is provisional and every truth is contested, the only certainty is that the most powerful forces are those that remain unseen.

Last updated: July 27, 2025