This book is a compendium of 3 individual novels by Alexander Kent:
- With All Despatch - first published 1972.
- Honour This Day - first published 1968
- The Only Victor - first published 1973
With All Despatch, Honour This Day and The Only Victor chart the career of the ever popular naval hero, Richard Bolitho, as he battles for King and Country, for his sailors who serve him loyally and for the woman he desperately loves but cannot marry, Lady Catherine Somervell.