Mirage

A famous Russian prisoner delivers a warning that sends Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon into action. According to him, a deadly weapon exists that was designed by one of the greatest inventors America ever produced, and it is about to fall into the wrong hands.

The trail leads back to October 1943, when a U.S. Navy destroyer is said to have left Philadelphia and disappeared after an experiment involving electromagnetic radiation. The tale has long been written off as a hoax. Cabrillo and his team are no longer so sure it was invented from nothing.

Word is spreading that a new weapon will soon be sold at auction, one that could badly damage American interests. The rumors point to Nikola Tesla, who was working with the Navy when he died in 1943. Did he stand behind the vanished ship? Have his notes ended up with America's enemies?

As Cabrillo chases the answers, he finds that far more is on the line than he first imagined. By the time he grasps the full scale of the danger, it may be too late to stop it. This is an installment in Cussler's Oregon Files series.