Expertly researched and marvellously presented novel; a new take on the Titanic disaster. Abridged version.

Until his death in 1976, little-known Titanic survivor Raimondo Vitillo vociferously maintained that a small ship pulled alongside Titanic, from the shadow of the fateful Atlantic iceberg.

In 1911, White Star Line was threatened with bankruptcy, insurance underwriters refusing to pay out after the Royal Navy denied responsibility for a damaging collision between HMS Hawke and Titanic's sister ship Olympic.

In April 1912, did White Star come up with an ill-fated radical solution to their financial turmoil?