"Every ocean takes its toll of men and ships, yet none devours them with the voracious appetitive of the Pacific....Despite all this, the world's largest ocean tends to be a tranquil place; even its name means peaceful and mild of temper." (Prologue, p. vii).

"The Starbuck was built in San Francisco from the keel up, as no other sub had been built before; every component, every system in her pressure hull, was computer designed. The first of a new generation of underwater ships - the beginning of a submerged city capable of cruising at one hundred twenty-five knots through the timeless depths two thousand feet beneath the sunlit surface. The Starbuck was like a thorough-bred jumper at her first horse show, chafing at the bit, ready to show her stuff." (Prologue, p. viii).

"Many of the Starbuck's crew had served under Dupree on prior assignments, and although...