"We've beat them before and we'll beat them again."

In 1803, Napoleon smashes the Peace of Amiens, and Captain Jack Aubrey, taking refuge in France from his creditors, is interned. He escapes from France, from debtor's prison, and from a possible mutiny and pursues his quarry straight into the mouth of a French-held harbor. Stephen Maturin's struggles, with himself as much as with a proud and intelligent woman, are woven into Aubrey's, straining their friendship at times to the breaking point.

The excitement continues in this second installment of Patrick O'Brian's highly acclaimed series.