It is 1784, and His Majesty's frigate "Undine" sets sail from Spithead for India. Europe may be at peace, but in colonial waters the promises of statesmen count for little and the bloody struggle for supremacy goes on. Richard Bolitho undertakes a task that would be better handled by a squadron.
The Year is 1778, the ship is the 18-gun HMS Sparrow, England's finest sloop of war, and the captain is Richard Bolitho, sailing his command into the fury of battle. The American Revolution has turned the Atlantic Coast into a refuge for privateers and marauding French warships. It is up to young Bolitho to fight the colonial rebels, to stave off the treachery of a beautiful woman, and to overcome the dangerous incompetence of a senior officer before it is too late.
As the American Revolution rages on the mainland, the British Navy prepares for action at sea. Against a growing fleet of Americans and French privateers, the navy must maintain its blockade of Washington's vital military supplies. Caught up in the turmoil, junior officer Richard Bolitho finds himself having to make momentous decisions in the heat of battle-decisions that could affect the lives of many men and, perhaps, even the fate of nations.
The year is 1772, and Richard Bolitho is a sixteen-year-old midshipman about to undergo a severe initiation into the game of seamanship. Two novels in one, Midshipman Bolitho follows young Bolitho's adventures as he intercepts and destroys a band of vicious pirates, and then is swept away on a dangerous mission through the treacherous stamping ground of smugglers, wreckers, and murderers.
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.
