"C. S. Forester is the First Admiral of all the seven seas of fiction," wrote John P. Marquand after reading The Good Shepherd. "Commander George Krause, USN, skipper of the American destroyer Keeling, is a long jump from Forester's best known hero Horatio Hornblower. But Commander Krause for my book is exactly as good as Hornblower ever was."
The mission of the commander was to lead the protecting screen of four escort vessels convoying thirty-seven Allied merchantmen across the icy North Atlantic from America to England. It was in the most critical days of WW II, when the German submarines had the upper hand and Allied shipping was suffering heavy losses.
The tense, concentrated action begins when Commander Krause is called to the bridge just after he has taken a much deserved shower. The wolf pack is forming and he has not time even to put on warm outer garments. For the next forty-eight hours he remains on the bridge.
Exhausted beyond measuare, he must make continuous and critical decisions as he leads his small fighting force against the relentless U-boats. Inevitably ships are sunk and men are drowned, but the enemy pays the price and the convoy pushes on to its objective.