August 1809: Returning safely to England after the dramatic capture of Martinique, Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho finds an all too brief respite from war and politics in the arms of his mistress, Lady Catherine Somervell.

But the shadow of a new conflict already darkens the horizon. The old enemy, France, forges an uneasy alliance with America - and so Bolitho is ordered to the Indian Ocean where this alliance threatens the safety of British trade routes.