The freshly promoted Lieutenant Johnnie Wharton RN, now recovered from the horrors of the Battle of the Nile, is ordered to Plymouth to join the Royal Navy’s newest battleship HMS Ajax as second lieutenant.
The endless war at sea continues with the British naval blockade of all French ports and Wharton seems destined to spend the next year or so sailing back and forth opposite Brittany and the Bay of Biscay.
A surprise secondment to the fast brig-sloop HMS Cynthia, captained by the buccaneering Scotsman Rory Burns, leads to the capture of a French schooner and, probably, more Prize Money. Then Burns and Wharton are ordered to scout for the attack on the Dutch fleet at anchor at Den Helder and De Vlieter in the Zuider Zee.
Napoleon and his Grand Armee’s invasion of Egypt has put Britain’s route to India in peril and Wharton plays a key role in the mass army and navy landings near Alexandria as an aide to Admiral Lord Keith and Captain Alexander Cochrane.
Peace talks between France and Britain at the end of 1801 cause concern for the Royal Navy with many officers and men facing being beached with half-pay or worse, as much of the fleet could be laid-up. Johnnie Wharton fears for the end of his naval career.