Stirling is virtually untouched during most of the novel, until the final act where Stirling is repeatedly attacked by dive bombers.

HMS Stirling is an obsolete World War I-era C-class cruiser of the Ceres sub-group (referred to as Cardiff Class in the novel). MacLean had served in HMS Royalist of that class. HMS Ulysses is similar to the real Dido-class cruisers. The realism of the descriptions, the believable motivations of the characters and the simplicity of the line of events make the story all the more credible, though the number of coincidental accidents that plague the crew is startling. It is their resilience that pushes these seamen to acts of heroism. Maclean's heroes are not especially motivated by ideals, they rarely excel at more than one task and they are overcome by a respectable enemy. The book uses a set of events to paint moving portrayals of the crew and the human aspects of the war. This echoes events in which British G-class destroyer HMS Glowworm and HMS Jervis Bay, an armed merchant cruiser, sacrificed themselves by engaging larger opponents. Ulysses is sunk in a failed attempt to ram a German cruiser after all her other weapons had been destroyed. All slowly reduce the convoy from 32 ships to only five.

They are beset by numerous challenges: an unusually fierce Arctic storm, German ships and U-boats, as well as air attacks. Ulysses puts to sea again to escort FR-77, a vital convoy heading for Murmansk. Her crew is pushed well beyond the limits of endurance and the book starts in the aftermath of a mutiny. The novel features HMS Ulysses, a light cruiser that is well armed and among the fastest ships in the world. Some editions carry a prefatory note disavowing any connection between the fictional cruiser HMS Ulysses and the U-class destroyer of the same name. MacLean's experiences in the Royal Navy during World War II provided the background and the Arctic convoys to Murmansk provided the basis for the story, which was written at a publisher's request after he'd won a short-story competition the previous year. Originally published in 1955, it was also released by Fontana Books in 1960. HMS Ulysses was the debut novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean.

HMS Ulysses by Alistair MacLean