The novel “The Tide Went Out”, later republished in a revised edition as “Thirst!”, by Charles Eric Maine was published for the first time in 1958.

The magazine Outlook is pulled from newsstands by order of the British government due to the presence of an article by Philip Wade. The journalist hypothesized a link between nuclear tests in the Pacific and a series of earthquakes and the lowering of sea levels. Confidentially, his publisher Walter Stenninger tells him that his hypothesis is correct and governments around the world started controlling information on what could be a global catastrophe.

For Philip Wade, it’s difficult to think that the Earth’s crust could really have been split by nuclear tests causing a slow drain of seawater. However, Walter Stenninger sold his magazine and informed Philip that he will be contacted by the Secret Service to work for them. Could the seas disappear completely? What consequences could there be globally if that happens?