Kurt Austin faces mind-control technology and cutting-edge weaponry in the latest novel in the #1 New York Times -bestselling series created by the “grand master of adventure” Clive Cussler. On a NUMA training mission in the Caribbean, Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala catch a distress call from a nearby freighter. Leaping into action, they locate a damaged vessel and a dead captain clutching a shotgun. While searching the freighter for clues, Kurt and Joe are ambushed by crew members who seem terrified and disoriented, almost brainwashed. The trawler they were hauling has vanished, taken—the men say—by baffling lights that circled the ship. Kurt and Joe deduce that the men are suffering from Havana Syndrome, which deepens the mystery and raises the stakes. Soon, they’re confronting Cuban mercenaries who plan to use magnificent modern airships to hijack a nuclear submarine—culminating in a life-or-death showdown in the skies. A New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller! “[A] fast-moving yarn…[and] a worthy addition to an entertaining series.” — Kirkus Reviews "This is another great novel in the series, filled with underwater adventures, shootouts, an epic air battle, and the bromance of Kurt and Joe. Fans of the series will be happy with this one” — Red Carpet Crash Clive Cussler was the author of more than eighty books in five bestselling series, including Dirk Pitt®, NUMA Files®, Oregon Files®, Isaac Bell®, and Sam and Remi Fargo®. His life nearly paralleled that of his hero Dirk Pitt. Whether searching for lost aircraft or leading expeditions to find famous shipwrecks, he and his NUMA crew of volunteers discovered and surveyed more than seventy-five lost ships of historic significance, including the long-lost Civil War submarine Hunley , which was raised in 2000 with much publicity. Like Pitt, Cussler collected classic automobiles. His collection featured more than one hundred examples of custom coachwork. Cussler passed away in February 2020. Graham Brown is the author of Black Rain , Black Sun , and Clive Cussler's Dark Vector , and the coauthor with Cussler of Devil's Gate, The Storm, Zero Hour, Ghost Ship, The Pharaoh's Secret , Nighthawk , The Rising Sea , Sea of Greed, Journey of the Pharaohs , and Fast Ice. He is a pilot and an attorney. Chpater 1   A hundred miles northeast of Nassau Present day Captain E. F. Handley stood on the bridge wing of the MV Heron , squinting into the distance behind the ship. His dark eyes focused on the line running from the Heron's stern to the dilapidated fishing trawler she was towing. He grunted a note of displeasure. "We've got a situation brewing." Handley was a lifelong sailor in his early sixties and the captain of the midsized freighter that made runs between the Bahamas and various American ports. His face was a weathered mix of sun-damaged skin and a bristly beard. It was deeply tanned with a hint of carmine red in the palette. His hair was wild and unruly, a nest of coarse grays that stuck out from beneath an old ball cap, which he repeatedly removed and repositioned in hopes of corralling the bushy mess. "What kind of situation?" a taller, more kempt individual asked. Handley looked over at the man in khaki pants and a blue windbreaker. Gerald Walker was not a member of the crew but had chartered the voyage and come along to supervise, taking them to a random spot in the eastern Atlantic, where they'd found the damaged trawler and taken it under tow. Walker claimed he wanted to take it back to Nassau, but he would allow no radio calls or other forms of transmission, and Handley expected he had another destination in mind. As a pretense, Walker pretended to work for a big insurance company, but Handley knew an American Navy man when he met one. Walker was too squared away to be a civilian. Too tight-lipped to be telling the whole story. Besides, the trawler was of negligible financial value, cheaper to sink than to save. And then, of course, there were the bodies... "See our towline?" Handley said. "It should be dipping into the water halfway between us and the trawler, but it's pulling up. The sag has gone out of it. The strain on the line is growing." "Current or wind?" Walker asked, showing he knew a thing or two about towing a derelict. "Neither," Handley said. "She's taking on water. She's sinking. We're gonna have to go back on board, set up pumps, and see if we can find the leak." "I can't allow that," Walker said with a firm but polite tone. The captain propped the ball cap higher on his head. "Something you don't want us to see on that ship, Mr. Walker? Something other than a bunch of dead Chinamen ?" "Dead Chinese," Walker corrected. "And I don't know what you're referring to. That ship was abandoned when we found it." Handley laughed. "You play all the games you want, Mr. Walker. Meanwhile, that ship is getting heavier and lower in the water. She's dragging us like an anchor, which me