A sailor who landed on the ground only for a bank deposit found himself involved in a spin of misadventures and vicissitudes. He will have to retrieve his ten thousand dollars (to invest in the opening of a Tahiti bar) before the ship resumes.
Au bord du monde - Fernando Pessoa
The wife of an American doctor suddenly vanishes in Paris. To find her, he navigates a puzzling web of language, locale, laissez-faire cops, triplicate-form filling bureaucrats and a defiant, mysterious waif who knows more than she tells.
Sydney Fox is a professor and globe-trotting "relic hunter" who looks for ancient artifacts to return to museums and/or the descendants of the original owner. She is aided by her linguistic assistant Nigel and occasionally by her somewhat air-headed secretary Claudia. She often ends up battling rival hunters seeking out artifacts for the money.