This book kept me riveted from start to finish and would make a great disaster film!  Kai Tanaka works in an early warning center for Tsunamis in Honolulu.   He detects a mild earthquake in a part of the Pacific where there is no known fault or seismic activity.  He thinks that this will be

The author gives some clues up front that this will be a run of the mill Tsunami watch that will probably lead to nothing but the author gives clues up front that this is different.  Firstly, a plane seems to encounter an explosion that damages it and then other forces seem to destroy it.

Still Kai does not really suspect anything, even when he loses a signal from one of the islands that stands between Honolulu and the seismic activity.  As clues start to mount up, Kai suspects that a disaster of enormous proportions is about to happen and there is only about an hour to warn everybody.

While Kai and his team monitor the activity and try to warn the populace, Kai learns that his own family is in danger and he must risk his life and his job duties to try to save them.

The book then moves at breakneck speed and is virtually impossible to put down.  It is much better than most of the disaster flicks that were popular in the 1970's and early 80's and I would love to see it made into a film.  The book is also an excellent source for understanding how tsunamis are created and the big dangers of larger second and third waves.  I highly recommend this book!