Sinopsis

1777 ... The revolution in America has erupted into a full-scale war. Richard Bolitho is a young lieutenant aboard Trojan, an eighty-gun ship of the line. The navy's main task is to prevent military supplies from reaching Washington's armies and to destroy the fast-growing fleet of French and American privateers. At a time of shortages and sudden death even a lieutenant can find himself faced with major tasks and decisions. As the Trojan goes about her affairs the threat to Bolitho and his companions makes itself felt from New York to the Caribbean.