France and Britain are finally at peace and many of the ships in the Royal Navy’s vast fleet are laid up. In the circumstances, Lieutenant John Wharton RN is amazed to be able to find the position of first lieutenant on the venerable but fast sloop HMS Camilla in Portsmouth.
By the autumn of 1802, the big question was how long the Treaty of Amiens would last and Britain’s seemingly endless war with the Napoleon’s France start again.
Convoy duty to Newfoundland and Canada follow with a vital diplomatic mission to Washington DC to try to avert another war with the United States. In company with his friend master gunner Toby Smeeton, the West Indies are the next destination with many adventures on the way.
Wharton is next posted first lieutenant of the grand 74-gun third rate HMS Goliath, but not before Wharton renews his friendship with the striking heiress Lady Penelope Marwood and her influential father Lord Paignton.
With the Treaty breaking down, Goliath is ordered to patrol between Jamaica and Haiti to disrupt the French navy and the prospect of valuable prizes soon becomes a reality.