Off the coast of China, the storm clouds of war are gathering into a thunderhead. An American yacht has been attacked in international waters by a Chinese combat helicopter. Tensions are at a zenith. China staunchly denies they had anything to do with the incident, and Carrier Battle Group 14 is put on full alert for what may become a full-blown shooting war between the superpowers. But even as the two mighty forces square for battle, an unseen adversary is watching, waiting for the bloodshed to begin—and time to strike.

Fifteen-hundred miles west of Hawaii, a freighter is hijacked with enough weapons-grade plutonium onboard to blast all the major capitals of the world into radioactive dust. These pirates are planning to sell the plutonium to countries like Iran for the purpose of developing nuclear warheads, and if there’s any attempt to retake the ship, they are prepared to release their deadly cargo and kill thousands. Only a team of specialists—highly trained to do the armed forces’ most dangerous job—can perform the surgical strike necessary to take out the bad guys. SEAL Team Seven is ready to bring them down.

November issue includes abridged index to yearly volume.

This account of a disaster at sea during World War II is “a powerful and engrossing story of tragedy, survival, and heroism” (Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down). In the final days of 1944, Admiral William “Bull” Halsey is the Pacific theater’s most popular and colorful naval hero. After a string of victories, the “Fighting Admiral” and his thirty-thousand-man Third Fleet are charged with protecting General MacArthur’s flank during the invasion of the Philippine island of Mindoro. But in the midst of the landings, Halsey attempts a complicated refueling maneuver—and unwittingly drives his 170 ships into the teeth of a massive typhoon. Halsey’s men find themselves battling ninety-foot waves and 150 mph winds. Amid the chaos, three ships are sunk and nearly nine hundred sailors and officers are swept into the Philippine Sea. For three days, small bands of survivors battle dehydration, exhaustion, sharks, and the elements, awaiting rescue. It will be up to courageous lieutenant commander Henry Lee Plage to defy orders and sail his tiny destroyer escort, the USS Tabberer, back into the storm to rescue drifting sailors. Revealing a little-known chapter of WWII history in absorbing detail, this is “a vivid tale of tragedy and gallantry at sea.” (Publishers Weekly).