Doorways in the Sand

Doorways in the Sand is a Hugo nominated novel written in one draft, with absolutely no rewrites. Fred Cassidy, perpetual student and expert building climber, finds himself hunted by gangs of criminals and government agents. He discovers that a priceless jewel called the Star Stone, on loan to the Earth from an extraterrestrial civilization, has gone missing and he may be the last person to have seen it. He decides to do his own investigating with help from friends and some strange, rogue galactic policemen.