Dagger Quest

An aging Coast Guard cutter is all that stands between the world and nuclear war.As NATO and Russia edge toward open conflict in Europe, a Russian bomber collides with a U.S. fighter off the coast of Florida. In the chaos, a nuclear‑tipped hypersonic missile is accidentally launched—and vanishes from the sky.Days later, the USCGC Kauai finds a drug‑laden sailboat smashed and adrift north of the Florida Keys. The wreckage tells a different story: the "e;lost"e; missile didn't harmlessly plunge into the Gulf of Mexico. It came down somewhere in the Keys.Now the Kauai's crew is locked in a race against a vicious international crime syndicate to find the missing warhead first. If the wrong people get to it, the discovery of a single Russian nuke on American soil could ignite the war everyone fears.Blending high‑stakes action with authentic Coast Guard detail, Dagger Quest follows the friendship, tension, and courage of a small‑ship crew pushed far beyond routine patrols. Readers who enjoy military and spy thrillers, sea adventures, and shows like Sea Patrol will feel right at home aboard the Kauai. "e;Submerging readers in the octane-fueled action of America's coastal military, Dagger Quest by Edward M. Hochsmann is a highly entertaining cross between a seafaring adventure and a high-stakes military drama...  the authenticity of the prose and the detailed technical writing makes readers forget this isn't a direct account of an international incident. Hochsmann also captures the pace, attitude, hierarchy, and seriousness of life on board a cutter, evidence of his own law enforcement experience in the Coast Guard."e;           Self-Publishing Review