Chapter 1, Seascape with Figures Summary

James Bond is number 007 in Her Majesty's Secret Service, one of the highest level international spies in Britain. Bond is on the track of the villainous Blofeld, who escaped Bond in the wake of his last adventure, when he falls in love—for the first time—with the troubled daughter of the head of the French mafia. With the help of this new alliance, Bond catches up with Blofeld and foils a scheme that could fell the British economy. Still, he pays the ultimate price for his victory, and Blofeld escapes him yet again.

As the novel begins, James Bond is vacationing at the seaside in France. The beach is colorful and crowded, almost a carnival, with music playing and bathers as far as the eye can see. Bond sits in a shelter, watching the...