when he receives a call from Pitt, using Mr. Dorsett's phone. Pitt and Al rescue Maeve's sons and kill Arthur, Boudicca and Deirdre Dorsett; however, Deirdre fatally shoots Maeve before Pitt kills her. Pitt and Al flee, using the Dorsett yacht to make their escape. Al takes the children aboard a helicopter that was parked on the yacht, and as they fly away from the island, Al sees the yacht engulfed by a pyroclastic ash cloud with Pitt still on board. Al arrives at a safe landing point, where he is recruited by rescue officials to fly back to the island. Al is concerned about what he will find there, but he has already decided to fly back and try to rescue his friend Pitt. Al also agrees to take a load of food, fresh water, and medical supplies to the islanders, who will most certainly need the items in the days following the eruptions. Upon his arrival at the island, Al is told that the authorities have received no radio communication to suggest that Pitt is still alive. As Al begins to mourn the loss of his best friend, he hears new information about a stranded yacht that has been seen floating several miles from the island. Al, feeling it might be Pitt, flies the helicopter to the coordinates hoping to find Pitt alive. Al indeed finds that Pitt is alive, having survived by barricading himself from the searing heat of the ash cloud. Sadly, however, Maeve is discovered dead from the injuries she sustained at the hand of her sister. We also discover that, prior to her untimely death, she and Pitt had pledged their deepest love for each other. After Pitt is rescued, he flies back to D.C. on a commercial jet flight and heads home, but not before spending some time in a hospital recovering from his very serious injuries. 1996 American novels Dirk Pitt novels Novels set in Antarctica Fiction set in 2000 Books with cover art by Paul Bacon