Muriel Arnold has led a varied and interesting career which has taken her to all corners of the world. After working in Spain and as Social Secretary on the Queen Elizabeth 2 for the World Cruises (beautifully described in Tiaras & T-shirts) her next move was rather more prosaic when she found herself as a secretary working for Esso Standard Libya Inc in the Sahara desert oilfield of Marsa el-Brega. Life was tough with Colonel Gaddafi and Libyan Government restrictions and bureaucracy ruling everyone’s lives. Surveillance by Security was the norm and form-filling took up large chunks of the day. The work involved long hours and ‘home’ was a one bedroom bungalow in ‘Secretary Street’! A blow-out of an oil well deep in the desert brought drama and frenetic organisation for days while Red Adair and his team worked to extinguish it. Every ninety days Muriel was required to renew her visa which necessitated a round trip to London - which did not always go smoothly. The author has described very well the life endured by oil workers in the Libyan desert when political and bureaucratic regulations more than matched the heat and discomfort of oil production.