Det vakthavande befälet på den amerikanska flygbasen trodde inte sina ögon. Planet som kom flygande rakt emot honom var en antik tysk Albatross från första världskriget! Men det fanns inget antikt över kulsprutorna som förvandlade de parkerade jetplanen till flammande skrothögar. Allt skulle ha varit förlorat om inte Dirk Pitt och Al Giordino just då hade kommit flygande i sin gamla Catalina.

It is July 2003. In the middle of its maiden voyage, the luxury cruise ship Emerald Dolphin suddenly catches fire and sinks. What caused it? Why didn't the alarms go off? What was its connection to the revolutionary new engines powering the ship? NUMA special projects director Dirk Pitt races to rescue the passengers and investigate the disaster, but he has no idea of the bizarre events that are about to engulf him.

Fully armed and with all hands onboard, the nuclear submarine Starbuck sailed into the calm Pacific Ocean for sea trials - and vanished. No wreckage, no signals, no survivors: nothing...until ace maritime troubleshooter Dirk Pitt finds a single chilling clue in the shark-torn surf off Hawaii - the log of the Starbuck. 'Do not search for us, it can only end in vain....' A crazed journal of madness and death is all that remains.

Juan Cabrillo's first adventure with the Oregon - a state-of-the-art spy ship disguised as a nondescript lumber hauler - takes him and his crew into dangerous waters as they try to put Tibet back in the hands of the Dalai Lama by striking a deal with the Russians and the Chinese.

September 1858: An Antarctic whaler stumbles across an aged wreck, her frozen crew guarding a priceless treasure.