Publisher's Synopsis
1587. Two nations are at war. On the continent bloody religious wars rage, but England stands apart, her surrounding seas keeping her safe from the land armies of her would-be enemies. Only at sea do the English show their teeth. Robert Varian is a low-born Englishman; but as a skilled and courageous sailor he has advanced in the ranks to become a trusted officer in Francis Drake's formidable navy. But Varian guards a secret - one that if discovered would cost him his life: he is a Catholic. In the maelstrom of war he must decide between his conflicting loyalties to his religion, to his Queen and to his country as England faces one of the most powerful fleets the world has ever known - the mighty Spanish Armada.
