This book investigates the controversial 1941 sinking of the HMAS Sydney by the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran, questioning the official narrative of the engagement. Michael Montgomery, a former naval officer and journalist, utilizes his background to scrutinize the discrepancies between the official Australian government inquiry and the accounts provided by the surviving German crew members. He argues that the official version of events contains significant logical inconsistencies that warrant a re-examination of the historical record.

Historians and naval experts often cite this work as a primary driver for the decades-long public debate regarding the Sydney's loss. Readers frequently note the technical detail provided, though some scholars caution that the author's conclusions remain speculative rather than conclusive.