Publisher's Synopsis
Jack Aubrey has just been promoted to Captain, and with this Captaincy comes his first ship, the brig Sophie. His task is to guard English merchantmen in the Mediterranean against Napoleon's raiders and Algerian pirates, but Sophie is old, slow and far too small to carry the guns needed. She also has no surgeon until Jack comes across Stephen Maturin, an Irish physician without sea legs but keen on adventure. As for the rest of the crew most are inexperienced or just plain daft but Jack is determined to make Sophie into a true man-of-war and capture the prize that will make his fortune.
