This novel is dedicated to my three fabulous children: Mary Claire Brown, born August 2, 1988, at Mercy Hospital, San Diego, CA Caroline Mitchell Brown, born March 6, 1992, at Bethesda Naval Hospital, Bethesda, MD Graham Hardison Brown, born January 8, 1996, at Presbyterian Hospital, Matthews, NC Special thanks to US Army veteran Jack Miller of La Mesa, California and Maydelé Jorge of Charlotte, North Carolina, for their superb editorial assistance He who controls the seas controls the world. Sir Walter Raleigh
