In 1774, Richard Bolitho is a newly appointed Third Lieutenant, joining the 28-gun frigate Destiny. Dispatched on a secret mission, Destiny and her company face the hazards of conspiracy, treason, and piracy. It is amidst the broadside battles and clashes of swords that Bolitho learns to accept his new responsibilities as a King's officer.

Aboard the Hyperion, Richard Bolitho sets sail with an untrained crew for blockade duty off France. Unfortunately, his superior, Commodore Mathias Pelham-Martin, is an incompetent egotist whose petty hostilities jeopardize the operation of an entire fleet.

he year is 1798. Napoleon's naval forces are amassing in the Mediterranean, preparing to annex Egypt, and it is there the newly-promoted Commodore Richard Bolitho is sent with a small squadron of ships under his command.

Portsmouth, 1782. His Britannic Majesty's frigate, Phalarope, is ordered to assist the hard-pressed squadrons in the Caribbean. Aboard is her new commander-Richard Bolitho. To all appearances the Phalarope is everything a young captain could wish for, but beneath the surface she is a deeply unhappy ship-her wardroom torn by petty greed and ambition, her deckhands suspected of cowardice under fire and driven to near-mutiny by senseless ill-treatment....

Spithead, 1784. His Majesty's Frigate, Undine, sets sail for India and the seas beyond. Europe may be at peace-but in colonial waters the promises of statesmen count for little and the bloody struggle for supremacy still goes on.

In September 1804, as England stands alone against France and the fleets of Spain, Vice-Admiral Richard Bolitho hoists his flag above the veteran Hyperion and sets sail with a new squadron for the Caribbean. His orders are to plan and execute a daring dawn raid on the Spanish Main.

War with Britain's former colony looms on the horizon, and Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho must lead a squadron against the powerful new ships of the United States navy. Supported by his loyal crew, Bolitho must use all his ingenuity to defeat one of America's great naval commanders, Nathan Beer.

Falmouth, September 1803: As Bolitho faces the grim reality of war at close quarters, he will be called upon to anticipate the strategies of the French fleet. But the conflict has also taken on a personal note, reviving his vendetta with the French Admiral, Jobert, who once commanded the Argonaute.

Sir Richard Bolitho returns from a wearing campaign in North American waters to take up a command in Malta. As England's long war with Napoleon reaches its end, will Richard Bolitho's longing for peace-both public and personal-be fulfilled?