The book by Hugh Scott tells about Robert Anderson who returns to Vietnam to atone for the civilian casualties during the war by the Americans. But soon after checking into the Caravelle Hotel in HCM City, he is pulled into a dangerous scheme to help a war-time friend recover a gold fortune that sank in the Sai Gon River in 1975.

The proceeds from the first 1,000 copies of the book will be donated to a Vietnamese charity, possibly one connected with the Rotary International Club, the author says, who hopes that the book will encourage other American authors to write for readers in Vietnam.

Mr Scott, aged 71, was a newspaper reporter, financial manager, and part-time instructor at the University of San Francisco and the UC Berkeley International Diploma Program.

Being published by the The Gioi Publishers in Hanoi, ’Saigon Gold’ is also available at TRI Books, Red Door Deco, Xu, Skewers, and La Camargue restaurants in HCM City.