Alexander Kent

"In 1774, Richard Bolitho is a newly appointed Third Lieutenant, joining the 28-gun frigate Destiny. ... It is amidst the broadside battles and clash of swords that Bolitho learns to accept his new responsibilities as a King's officer."--Cover of 1998 pbk. ed.

In March, 1811, Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho is once again summoned to London. In defense of an Empire, the Admiralty must quell the unrest in American, or face war with those who were once friends.

Returning safely to England after the dramatic capture of Martinique, Vice Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho finds an all too brief respite from war and politics. But the shadow of a new conflict darkens the horizon as France forge an alliance with America, threatening the safety of British trade routes.

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

April 1797, Falmouth Bay. As France continues her bitter struggle for supremacy on land and sea, the Royal Navy receives a crippling blow at home: the Great Mutiny. Returning home after eighteen months' continuous service, Flag Captain Richard Bolitho finds himself at the center of the crisis. And his new commander, it seems, is a man who will brook no interference ...

As Napoleon holds Portugal and threatens his old ally Spain, Vice Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho is dispatched once more to the Cape of Good Hope to establish a permanent naval force.

In 1772 a sixteen-year-old midshipman joins the crew of the "Gorgon" whose mission is to investigate the slave trade on Africa's west coast.

In February, 1806, the frigate carrying Vice Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho drops anchor off the shores of southern Africa. Bolitho's instructions are to assist in hastening the campaign in Africa, where an expeditionary force is attempting to recapture Cape Town from the Dutch.