The Wind Off the Sea — David Beaty

 
One man's disappearance could signal the beginning of WWIII in this military mystery thriller from an acclaimed author and former Royal Air Force pilot.

After a spectacular career as an airman, Group Captain Gavin Gallagher became the Commanding Officer of the most powerful nuclear rocket station in the world. Then he vanished without a trace. One day, he left the Zeus launching pads to return home to his wife . . . and never arrived.
From the Provost Marshal's office, Wing Commander Henderson is tasked with investigating the mystery before it erupts into a national emergency. Has Gallagher been kidnapped, or has he ‘gone over'? Could he have been murdered? And what clues can be found in his past: his rise from wing undergraduate to war hero, to one of the few top men who literally hold the key to human survival?