Published in 1961, Thunderball is Ian Fleming’s ninth James Bond novel. The criminal organisation SPECTRE, led by Ernst Stavro Blofeld, hijacks a NATO aircraft carrying two nuclear weapons and threatens to destroy major cities unless a large ransom is paid. British intelligence mobilises to locate the missing bombs before the deadline expires.

Bond is sent to the Bahamas, where suspicion falls on Emilio Largo, a senior SPECTRE operative whose yacht may be connected to the theft. Working with CIA officer Felix Leiter, Bond investigates Largo’s activities and becomes involved with Domino Vitali, Largo’s mistress and the sister of a man connected to the hijacking. The operation culminates in an underwater confrontation as Bond and allied forces attempt to recover the weapons. The novel combines espionage, nuclear threat and organised crime with maritime adventure, while introducing SPECTRE as a major independent adversary.