One Winter Night in 1864, the tiny Confederate submarine HL Hunley made its way toward the USS Housatonic, just outside Charleston Harbor. The submarine, using a giant black powder bomb, blew the larger vessel into a spray of wood planks. Then the submarine, the first ever to be successful in combat, disappeared. Discovered 131 years later at the bottom of the sea, the crew's bodies were all found at their stations, no indication of any blast having breached the hull. Why did it sink? How did these men die? This is the story of how one woman solved the mystery. Balancing a gripping historical tale and original reporting with a personal story of professional and private obstacles, Rachel Lance presents a vivid portrait of a unique moment in the Civil War and the lengths one scientist will go to uncover its secrets. Book jacket.