Sir Hugo Drax is a multi-millionaire tycoon and war hero, revered by the British public for his Moonraker missile defence programme. So why does he risk destroying his reputation and the future of the Moonraker programme by gambling millions of pounds at the card table, and is there something suspicious about his winning streak? As 'the best card-player in the service', Bond is called in to uncover the answers. But as 007 probes deeper into the activities at the Moonraker base, he discovers that there is more to the mysterious Drax his project than simply cheating at cards...

Ian Lancaster Fleming was born in London in 1908. His first job was at Reuters news agency after which he worked briefly as a stockbroker before working in Naval Intelligence during the Second World War. His first novel, Casino Royale, was published in 1953 and was an instant success. Fleming went on to write twelve other Bond books as well as two works of non-fiction and the children's classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The Bond books have sold over sixty million copies and earned praise from figures such as Raymond Chandler who called Fleming 'the most forceful and driving writer of thrillers in England' and President Kennedy who named From Russia with Love as one of his favourite books. The books inspired a hugely successful series of film adaptations which began in 1962 with the release of Dr No, starring Sean Connery as 007. Fleming was married to Anne Rothermere with whom he had a son, Caspar. He died in 1964. www.ianfleming.com

Ian Lancaster Fleming was born in London in 1908. His first job was at Reuters news agency after which he worked briefly as a stockbroker before working in Naval Intelligence during the Second World War. His first novel, Casino Royale, was published in 1953 and was an instant success. Fleming went on to write twelve other Bond books as well as two works of non-fiction and the children's classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The Bond books have sold over sixty million copies and earned praise from figures such as Raymond Chandler who called Fleming 'the most forceful and driving writer of thrillers in England' and President Kennedy who named From Russia with Love as one of his favourite books. The books inspired a hugely successful series of film adaptations which began in 1962 with the release of Dr No, starring Sean Connery as 007. Fleming was married to Anne Rothermere with whom he had a son, Caspar. He died in 1964. www.ianfleming.com