July 26, 1956, and the world was suddenly spellbound by one of the worst sea disasters of all time. The sea-voyaging life of the Pride of Italy was over. Just off the coast of Nantucket Island, the Andrea Dorea lay on the cold, dark bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Radios blared and newspapers shrieked the gaudy headlines. People thrilled to the dramatic story of Hollywood actress Ruth Roman, of Linda Morgan the "miracle girl" who was catapulted from one ship to another. 26 lay dead, and no one knew why it happened.

Here, written by an Associated Press reported who devoted 18 months to detective work, is the chronicle of the mysterious Andrea Doria-Stockholm collision.