Lieutenant Hornblower emerges from his apprenticeship as a midshipman, to the new responsibilities thrust upon him by the fortunes of war between Napoleon and Spain. Enduring near-mutiny, bloody hand-to-hand combat with Spanish seamen, deck-splintering sea battles, and the violence and horrors of life on the fighting ships of the Napoleonic Wars, the young lieutenant distiguishes himself in his first independent command. And, at the end of this book, he faces an adventure unique to his experience: Maria.