Now, rated able seaman, Kydd and his best friend, the mysterious Nicholas Renzi, leave Duke William and ship out in the crack frigate Artemis. In the great age of fighting sailing ships, service in a fast frigate, ranging the oceans for prey and prize money, promises to be infinitely preferable to the boredom of life in a large battleship assigned to blockade duty.

A fierce battle against a French frigate soon brings glory—and even an encounter with George III—to Artemis and her crew, but a message from home, conveyed by Kydd's sister Cecelia, threatens to cut short Kydd's career and trap him on shore forever.

Only a clever plan from the always-surprising Renzi frees Kydd to ship out again in his beloved Artemis—a voyage that will take him to the fabled East and present him with fierce challenges, both personal and physical. Ultimately, he will face death itself in the cruel waters of the Great Southern ocean.