"A Terrible Loyalty" is historical fiction set in the Pacific in the early days of WWII. When the Pacific Fleet was largely destroyed on December 7, submarines were all the U.S. had left to bring the war to the Japanese, but the torpedoes they had were defective. Torn between using the faulty weapons or disobeying orders and modifying them against orders so they would work, sub skippers had a difficult moral choice to make. Divided loyalty is the theme of the book and, when one must choose between competing loyalties, there is often a heavy price to pay. The nature of fear is also examined.