After a daring escape from a British prison, Philippe Kermorvant returns to France and gains command of a frigate in the Mediterranean, where France is trying to rebuild its decimated fleet.

Facing overwhelming odds, the fleet is forced to flee for refuge to a fortified bay. The prospect of an interminable blockade looms, but Philippe is given leave from his command to meet an enigmatic young general, who has a mission for him.

What follows is a shocking murder, a siege, a whirlwind romance and a duel to the death on the high seas, as Philippe contends with threats from every side. And amidst all this chaos, a terrible face from his past threatens to uproot everything that he has built for himself.

A fascinating naval adventure of the Age of Sail told from the French perspective, perfect for fans of Hornblower and Sharpe.

J. D. Davies is the prolific author of historical naval adventures. He is also one of the foremost authorities on the seventeenth-century navy, which brings a high level of historical detail to his fiction, namely his Matthew Quinton series. He has written widely on the subject, most recently Kings of the Sea: Charles II, James II and the Royal Navy,and won the Samuel Pepys Award in 2009 with Pepys's Navy: Ships, Men and Warfare, 1649-1689.