Captain Alan Lewrie of the Royal Navy is ordered to head to Cuba and Spanish Florida to search for French and Spanish privateers who have been preying on British merchantmen and discover if the privateers have been getting aid from the Americans..

"Dewey Lambdin is the reigning master of maritime fiction, celebrated as the heir to Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forester. For over twenty years, his devoted fans have followed the adventures of Alan Lewrie, Royal Navy, from his days as a midshipmen to captain of his own ship and, though on somewhat dubious grounds, a baronetcy. 1809 starts out badly for Captain Alan Lewrie, RN, and his ship, HMS Sapphire. They've extracted the sick, cold survivors of...

After reluctantly saving the last French citizens left on rebellious Haiti, Lewrie finds himself invited back to London to receive honors from the King and soon finds himself back at sea testing a newfangled weapon called a "torpedo" and defending England from an invasion by Napoleon.