The obsidian gambit

He is Thames Barn — gentleman, ghost, and the last man you want on your trail. And this time, he is not working alone. A secret summons at his London club pulls Barn into the most ambitious theft in criminal history: the Obsidian Exchange, a shadow finance syndicate chaired by the cultured and ruthless Dorian Kaine, is assembling the Sovereign Key — five fragments scattered across the globe that, united, unlock the Argent Vault, a dormant war-chest of untraceable billions. In ten days Kaine will use it to bankroll a coup in the nation of Kestria and crash two currencies for profit. At Barn's side — in the boardroom, at the wheel, and in the fire — is Trippany Sloane: his co-director and secretary, sharper than any blade in the room. From a glittering villa gala on the French Riviera to a penthouse soirée above Manhattan, from a moonlit harbour pursuit in Sydney to a neon double-cross in Hong Kong and a white-knuckle run through Berlin, Barn and Trippany chase all five fragments across five continents. Armed with a new gadget for every job, a silver V12 that outruns everything on the road, a beautiful jet that becomes a battleground at forty thousand feet, and his father's old chronometer ticking against his wrist, Barn closes in on an enemy who believes nations are obsolete — and that money should rule openly. But Kaine knows they are coming. And the vault is already counting down. THE OBSIDIAN GAMBIT is the second sophisticated, globe-trotting Thames Barn thriller — ten chapters, five continents, one mission, and a partnership that changes everything. Fearless, impeccably dressed, and gone before the applause. He is Thames Barn — gentleman, ghost, and the last man you want on your trail. And this time, he is not working alone. A secret summons at his London club pulls Barn into the most ambitious theft in criminal history: the Obsidian Exchange, a shadow finance syndicate chaired by the cultured and ruthless Dorian Kaine, is assembling the Sovereign Key — five fragments scattered across the globe that, united, unlock the Argent Vault, a dormant war-chest of untraceable billions. In ten days Kaine will use it to bankroll a coup in the nation of Kestria and crash two currencies for profit. At Barn's side — in the boardroom, at the wheel, and in the fire — is Trippany Sloane: his co-director and secretary, sharper than any blade in the room. From a glittering villa gala on the French Riviera to a penthouse soirée above Manhattan, from a moonlit harbour pursuit in Sydney to a neon double-cross in Hong Kong and a white-knuckle run through Berlin, Barn and Trippany chase all five fragments across five continents. Armed with a new gadget for every job, a silver V12 that outruns everything on the road, a beautiful jet that becomes a battleground at forty thousand feet, and his father's old chronometer ticking against his wrist, Barn closes in on an enemy who believes nations are obsolete — and that money should rule openly. But Kaine knows they are coming. And the vault is already counting down. THE OBSIDIAN GAMBIT is the second sophisticated, globe-trotting Thames Barn thriller — ten chapters, five continents, one mission, and a partnership that changes everything. Fearless, impeccably dressed, and gone before the applause.