By this point Fleming, and through him Bond, has come along way from the sexist and nearly racist person we saw in Casino Royale into an almost decent human being. Gone are the days of him saying women belong in the kitchen and not in the field to actively recruiting one to spy for him. Fleming does however return to describing card games which only he can keep interesting. The overall plot is SPECTRE, SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, has stolen two nuclear bombs and will destroy both property and a city if their demands are not met. Their demands are of course large amounts of money, in the form of gold. The Queen of England and the President of the United States, as they are demanding ransom from them as well, task all their agencies to solve who is behind this extortion and stop it before there is any loss of life.
So of course Bond, with the help of Felix Leiter, catch a lucky break and stumble upon the plan and SPECTRE themselves.
Thunderball looks into more of the life of James Bond as well. His excessive drinking, smoking and the injuries he has taken are taking their toll on him. Not only is he an alcoholic but he is also smoking up to sixty cigarettes a day. Fleming goes out of his way to point out that these are a type of blended cigarettes that are stronger than regular cigarettes as well. With all of this combining against him, he fails his health and fitness evaluation and must get treatment at a wellness center.
This is a departure from the Bond we see in the movies, that despite everything he is always fit and can do anything that needs done. But I can't see any of the Bond characters from the movies being able to smoke sixty cigarettes a day and still be able to chase people though the city.
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