Publisher's Synopsis
A saga of the US Navy from the Barbary War of 1803 through the War of 1812. In 1803, a young man joins the crew of what will become the most famous frigate of the early US Navy - USS Constitution. From the sands of North Africa during the first Barbary War, across the aquamarine waters of the Caribbean, we follow the exploits of a young American seaman, Alain de Noux. At the outbreak of the War of 1812, Captain de Noux takes the ship he personally designed to sea to fight the mightiest navy in the world - Britain's Royal Navy. USS Relentless is the newest, largest, fastest frigate in the world, her hull coated in resin that allows her to fly across the waves, her radically-designed sails and special chute-sail that acts as a spinnaker pulls the big frigate along at nearly eighteen knots. Armed with weapons far in advance of its time - steel cannons with rifled barrels that propel shells farther than any cannon on any ship, along with special binoculars that aid lookouts to see at night, USS Relentless is a most lethal ship. The ship also carries high caliber shells that explode on contact and special carcass rounds filled with white phosphorous, consuming any ship it strikes in flames. USS Relentless challenges all ships, including the huge British ships-of-the-line, contemporary battleships. Terrorizing the Atlantic for months, Relentless is sent on a more important mission, a mission with no return ticket. She will fly the American flag into combat for the first time across the Indian Ocean, attacking the fat merchant ships of Britain's lucrative East India Company. America does not have the means to invade Britain, but USS Relentless can disrupt her most profitable trade routes. Alain finds success in war and finally meets the woman that will change his world, if only for a short time. In his heart, he knows he will die a young man. It is a race. How many ships can the great raider destroy or capture before the Royal Navy's fleet can destroy her? Along the shoals of the Laccadive Islands, In what the world will call The Battle of the Arabian Sea, USS Relentless must fight an entire fleet in order for Alain to get back to the love of his life.
