Fans of Patrick O''Brian and C. S. Forester will love this gripping, all-guns-blazing naval adventure from multi-million copy seller Alexander Kent - full of passion and compassion, you''ll won''t be able to put this one down...!

''One of our foremost writers of naval fiction'' -- Sunday Times
''Shipwreck, survival ... a spirited battle ... a splendid yarn'''' -- The Times
''Another cracking yarn'' -- ***** Reader review
''Leaves you breathless'' -- ***** Reader review
''Yet another awesome tale from the master storyteller''-- ***** Reader review
''Draws you in and keeps you engaged the whole way''-- ***** Reader review
''Excellent book, you feel you are there in the middle of the fighting'' -- ***** Reader review
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1802: Richard Bolitho is summoned to the Admiralty in London and given his orders for a difficult and, to him, distasteful task. Even an advanced promotion to vice-admiral does not compensate for his sudden and thankless mission. Bolitho and his wife are expecting their first child, and for once he is loath to quit the land for the demands of duty.

The Peace of Amiens, signed a few weeks earlier, is already showing signs of strain as the old enemies wrangle over the return of colonial possessions won and lost during the war. In the little sixty-four-gun AchatesBolitho sails West for Boston, and thence to the Caribbean where he must hand over the island of San Felipe to the French.

Bolitho discovers that to be a man of diplomacy is not enough, and as threat and counter-threat weave a web of intrigue around his lonely command, he balances success against the danger to the men who must follow him even to the cannon''s mouth.