New York: Morrow, (1947.) dj. Hardcover - His first book, a novel about counter-espionage and romance in France during World War II - .the story of an American who is given a mission to work with French collaborator Jean-Louis Mercanton, gain his confidence and then turn him over to the authorities for trial and execution. Although this is possibly slightly autobiographical - Merrick served a counter-intelligence agent in the OSS - the predecessor to the CIA - in Algeria and France, the homosexuality themes are unstated and implicit, and only noticeable in light of his later fame as a pioneering American author of gay-themed novels. 248 pp.