Below a dark and angry sea, men in the submarines of the British Navy prowl. Explosive spherical mines lie silently in wait for their weathered vessels. At any time, the abyssals of the Atlantic can be rocked by the terrifying din of a mine exploding and a boat imploding. Manning these cramped vessels is a fulltime hardship, with myriad risks and sometimes terrifying emergencies. But an even more dangerous vocation can be found on land at the British Navy's Special Counter-measures-a place where men with either a death wish or nothing left to lose defuse enormous seamines. If any of these subjects stimulate your interest, Douglas Reeman's Twelve Seconds to Live explores them with zest and tasteful drama in this masterful work of naval fiction.