The Mediterranean at sunset was a palette of bruised purples and burning oranges, a far cry from the steely, unforgiving greys of the North Atlantic. On the deck of the Selene—a state-of-the-art, hydrogen-powered explorer yacht—Silas Vane stood alone.

He was holding a glass of mineral water, his tuxedo jacket discarded on a lounge chair. For the first time in his life, Silas didn't feel the need to be armored in wool and silk. He looked out at the horizon where the lights of the Amalfi Coast were beginning to twinkle like fallen stars.