A ghost ship full of long-lost gold beckons, and Biggles gets an icy reception...Biggles, Algie, Bertie and Ginger are visited by Grimes, an old pal from the war, whose father, a Merchant Navy captain known as Jumbo, is in a spot of bother. He was recently tricked into skippering a crew of seal poachers to an islet off Antarctica. While there, they spotted an old ship - still rigged for sail - trapped in the pack ice. After an investigation of the ship, Jumbo overheard the words 'starry' and 'crown' from the jubilant crew. An avid fan of an unsolved mysteries, Biggles immediately recognises the importance of these words. Jumbo and his crew had stumbled upon the long-lost schooner Starry Crown, which went missing seventy years prior with a ton of Australian gold ingots aboard. There have been several sightings and ill-fated recovery expeditions since, but no one has ever retrieved the gold. Grimes reckons that they might be able to beat the poachers to the treasure if they were to go by air, and wonders if Biggles is interested in an adventure. After making a few enquiries, Biggles agrees to the expedition, but there is more than gold in the Starry Crown, and no help for miles across Antarctica's vast silence... Wrap up warm for a classic Biggles adventure to the frozen continent of Antarctica.

War is declared, and Biggles is ready for action!September 1939. Britain has declared war on Germany. Major James Bigglesworth, known to his friends as 'Biggles', is eager to get straight into the action alongside old friends Algernon 'Algy' Lacey and 'Ginger' Hebblethwaite. They don't have to wait long. The British government has covertly acquired a small island in the Baltic, off the north coast of Germany. The island is unremarkable save for one feature: a natural sea cave, unknown to the Germans, large enough to house several aircraft. Biggles' orders: wreak havoc on German forces for as long as possible without compromising the location of the secret base. It's a dangerous mission, for the might of the enemy military machine will be bent on finding them, led by Biggles' old nemesis, Erich von Stalhein. Take to the skies in a classic Biggles adventure packed with heroism and feats of derring-do. Perfect for fans of Derek Robinson and Max Hennessy.

The case of the pirate U-boat!Air Commodore Raymond has a thrilling new case for Biggles, Ginger, Algy and Bertie, now the Scotland Yard Air Squad. Instead of surrendering at the end of the war, commander Von Schonbeck of submarine U-517 escaped to the south Indian ocean. From his base on an uncharted island, he has been waging his own personal war, very profitably. Among other booty, he is known to have acquired a sizeable quantity of gold. But there's very little to go on: the submarine sinks all the ships it preys upon, leaving no survivors. And Biggles & Co. have a hunting ground of a million square miles of air and ocean... Will they find the renegade submarine, or will it continue to prowl the depths? Has Biggles met his match in the hunt for the dastardly von Schonbeck?

Biggles has a cold war.November 1939. The Winter War between the Finns and the Soviets has begun, and Finland has called for international support. Biggles, Algy and Ginger have volunteered to help, and fly reconnaissance missions over the country on the lookout for Soviet troops and aircraft. Quite by chance on one such flight, Biggles spots a lone figure at death's door in the snow, and lands to investigate. The man is Petolski, a Polish scientist. His plane crashed on the Finland-Russia border while he was trying to escape Occupied Poland with seven years' worth of experimental aircraft research. Rather than let it fall into enemy hands, he has hidden it somewhere near the downed plane. The research cannot fall into enemy hands, and Biggles is ordered to retrieve it at all costs. But the Russians have found out about the research as well, and a party led by Biggles' nemesis, Erich von Stalhein, is already looking for it. The race is on! Strap in for a classic Biggles cat-and-mouse chase in the ice and snow of Finland. Perfect for fans of Derek Robinson and Max Hennessy.

Michael Palin reads this classic adventure by W. E. Johns, featuring pilot-adventurer James 'Biggles' Bigglesworth When Biggles receives a letter from an old wartime chum asking for help, he responds at once. With his comrades, Algy, Ginger and Flight Sergeant Smyth, our hero flies to Fort Beaver in Canada, where winter is closing in around the remote airfield. There he discovers that his buddy Wilks is being menaced by a sinister character called 'Brindle' McBain and his cronies. Wilks has started a small airline business, but McBain wants to take over and he'll stop at nothing to get Wilks out of the way. With the threats of sabotage, theft, and even murder in play, all their lives are now in danger. Can Biggles save the day and defeat McBain? Or will they perish in the frozen north? Duration: 2 hrs approx.