The auxiliary cruiser Libau was deployed under the guise of a Norwegian merchant ship as a blockade runner for the Imperial Navy. In April 1916, it was sent under Lieutenant at Sea Karl Spindler to the west coast of Ireland to deliver a shipment of weapons and explosives for the participants of the Easter Rising. Due to communication deficiencies, the Libau was not met by the rebels in Fenit Harbour in Tralee Bay. While fleeing from the Royal Navy, the Libau ultimately sank itself off Queenstown on April 22, 1916. The crew fell into British captivity. The captain of the Libau published this gripping account of a voyage into the unknown with great success in 1921. To this day, the book has lost none of its fascination.