Dirk Pitt. death-defying adventurer and deep-sea expert, is put to the ultimate test as he plunges into the perilous waters of the Pacific Vortex--a log-shrouded sea zone where dozens of ships have vanished without a trace. The latest victim is the awesome super-sub Starbuck, America's deep-diving nuclear arsenal. Its loss poses an unthinkable threat to national de. fense. Pitt's job is to find it, salvage it, before the sea explodes. In a furious race against time, Pitt's mission swirls him into a battle with underwater assassins--and traps him in the arms of Summer Moran, the most stunningly exotic and dangerous woman ever to enter Pitt's life. As the countdown heads toward disaster, Clive Cussier plummets his hero onto an ahcient sunken island--the astonishing setting for the explosive climax of PACIFIC VORTEX!