Journey to the Interior — P.H. Newby

Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, A Journey to the Interior was P. H. Newby's debut novel, first published in 1945. In the desert Sultanate of Rasuka, the European supervisors of an oil well form a community favourable to the development of minor eccentricities and personal antagonisms. But when one of them disappears, Winter is forced to embark on a unique journey to find him.