The USSMemphis, a dilapidated submarine that that should have been mothballed decades ago, has been given one last mission by the newly elected president.
The task: To sneak illegally into Russia's coastal waters and recon the leaking nuclear fuel containers hidden on the floor of the Arctic Ocean. More than just an environmental nightmare, this radioactive burial ground houses enough nuclear capability to destroy most of America's major cities.
The Memphis's commander, Lowell Hardy, had been looking forward to flag rank and pleasant duty upon the sub's decommissioning. Now he's trapped in an inconceivably dangerous mission that could easily end his career, if not his life and the lives of his crew. But it's the crew who feel Hardy's tension as he tyrannizes everyone on board to ensure they'll be ready for anything.
Jerry Mitchell, an ex-naval pilot with political connections, is a novice submariner unprepared for his job as a weapons officer. He may be the mission's greatest liability . . . or its ultimate salvation. Dr. Joanna Patterson is a civilian scientist reporting to the president—and every bit as demanding as Hardy.
Amid flaring tempers, faulty machinery, lethal radioactivity, and the raging arctic seas, the submariners seethe with a rage that threatens to break through the surface at any moment. What they don't yet know is that the mission is not what it seems. Lurking beneath the frigid, black, radioactive waters is a secret far deadlier than anything naval command could imagine—a secret so menacing the Russian Fleet is hell-bent on destroying the Memphis and all who sail in her . . .
