\tRadarman Second Class Zack Martin, stuck in a dead- end clerical position in Norfolk, has all but given up hope of being sent back to sea. He would like nothing more than to go back to sea on a sleek destroyer headed for the western pacific theater of operations, where war with North Vietnam is heating up. \tJust when it appears that he is destined to remain in Norfolk, however, orders arrive for Martin to report for sea duty aboard an aging destroyer escort heading for a new assignment in the South China Sea. Martin now has his long- sought assignment: duty aboard a ship of the line in a combat zone. The assignment is not quite the ship that Martin had hoped for, but the ship's mission includes the kind of tour of duty that offers both danger and excitement. \tDanger and excitement, indeed! Had Martin known of the perils facing him in his new assignment, he might have wished to remain right where he was.