In 1991, a group of
divers, including
John Chatterton, set out on
Seeker to explore an unknown object lying below the surface of the
Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey, and discover a
World War II German
U-boat. Amazed at this discovery, Chatterton and his fellow divers make a pact to keep the U-boat a secret until they can discover its identity and claim credit for its discovery. This is to prevent "wreck-jumping" (wherein another person claims credit and/or removes objects from the wreck). Unfortunately, this pact is broken almost immediately by team members who tell close friends, and the secret is let out. Consulting both the
United States Navy and the
German Navy yields denials of the possibility of a World War II-era U-boat wreck in that area. Historical records claim the closest U-boat wreck to be hundreds of miles away. The book chronicles the quest to learn the identity of the mysterious wreck, dubbed
U-Who by the dive team, the identities of the men aboard her, and how she came to rest on the ocean floor near New Jersey. It took six years of dives to retrieve artifacts from the submarine plus research to confirm the boat's identity as
U-869. Over the length of the quest several members of the original dive team quit, either because their lives lead them elsewhere or over concerns for their safety. Several new members were brought in, including
Richie Kohler, a member of the notorious "Atlantic Wreck Divers" club that had the reputation of being pirate-like and reckless in their diving philosophy. This philosophy is the complete opposite of Chatterton's, and Chatterton initially dislikes Kohler. However, during the course of the quest the two men discover qualities in each other they both admire and respect. Kohler himself is driven not by monetary desires but the history behind the wreck, and the personal connection he feels as his family is of
German descent. He and Chatterton ultimately become close friends. The quest for the identity of the U-boat and its occupants pushes the dive team to the limits, ultimately ending Chatterton's and Kohler's marriages, and the lives of three divers, including Steve Feldman, and the father-son team
Chris Rouse, Sr. and Chris "Chrisy" Rouse, Jr. ==In media==