Publisher's Synopsis
1794. In the wake of the Glorious First of June, an equivocal success for the British naval fleet against the French Revolutionary forces, Lieutenant John Pearce has pressing matters to attend to. He must undertake an urgent commission from Lord Hood, track down Midshipman Toby Burns, and placate Emily Barclay who, estranged from her husband, is now under Pearce's protection. Meanwhile, smugglers whose ship Pearce inadvertently stole are on his tail, determined to get their money or kill him in revenge - or possibly both.