May 1988. American scientists are conducting routine underwater tests near the Mediterranean island of Crete when they see an amorphous shadow lurking behind an outcropping of dark gray rocks. The lamps of their unmanned deep-sea vehicles aren't bright enough to fully illuminate the target, but as one of the robots maneuvers nearer, the blob begins to take shape. Moments later, an eerie vision springs onto the monitors - the image of a skin diver's suit two and a half miles below the surface of the Mediterranean.Lt. Edna J. Haddix of the U.S. Navy, on board to oversee the underwater vehicles, suspects that she and her crew have stumbled upon traces of a submarine that vanished two decades earlier. Her superiors in Washington, D.C., immediately dispatch troubleshooter Wendell Trent to help her locate the sunken vessel and examine its holds.But there's a reason that the submarine has remained undetected and undisturbed. If revealed, its top secret cargo could forever alter the balance of power in the Middle East. Which is why an unlikely alliance of governments on two continents will resort to sabotage, blackmail, kidnapping - and even an armed showdown on the high seas - to abort the Americans' search.Written by renowned oceanographer Robert Ballard and journalist Tony Chiu, Bright Shark weaves together complex and all too plausible political intrigue with authentic underwater lore to create a spellbinding deep-sea techno-thriller that rivals the best of Clancy or Cussler. Read Less