Campbell's Kingdom — Hammond Innes

A daring young man heads to the oil fields of Canada for a last crack at making his fortune in this tale from “Great Britain's leading adventure novelist” (Financial Times).

Adrift since the end of World War II, Bruce Weatherall has wasted years of his life pretending he's an ordinary man. But beneath his mild-mannered exterior lurks the soul of an adventurer who would sacrifice everything to make his fortune. So when the chance of a lifetime comes along, Weatherall doesn't even bother quitting his day job. He simply disappears.
 
When he learns he's his grandfather's sole heir -- though he hardly knew him -- Weatherall's life is forever changed. The supposedly mad old man died in Canada, frozen to death in a shack on the edge of a mountain, where he lived his final years in a feverish hunt for oil. Everyone thought he was crazy, but his grandson believes he may have been on to something. So the intrepid young man travels to the far reaches of Alberta to take the oil industry by the throat -- and live or die in pursuit of his grandfather's impossible dream.
 
A rollicking adventure in the tradition of Robert Louis Stevenson and Jack London, Campbell's Kingdom is thrilling, “guaranteed entertainment” (Kirkus Reviews).