The white hot story of a WWII freighter, loaded with high explosive fuel, its heroic crew and navy gunners drawn face to face with the most dangerous battle areas of the Pacific. A young Japanese Naval Air cadet trains for a mission that will bring him to in direct conflict with the star-crossed SS Corydon Snow.

Richard Whitten Barnes was born in Minnesota but grew up on the north side of Chicago. A band scholarship took him to Michigan State University, where he majored in chemistry. He is now retired from a long career in international chemical sales and marketing, taking him all over the world. Barnes is a veteran of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division and an avid sailor. He lives in Lake Wylie, S.C., but spends summers with his wife Marg and dog Sparty at their cottage on St. Joseph Island, Ontario.