This book has been released under the following alternate titles:-
Hornblower During the Crisis
1805 - Napoleon prepares to invade England... A desperate hand-to-hand encounter with a French brig gives Hornblower possession of confidential dispatches from Bonaparte - a means of luring the enemy fleet into battle.
Asked by the Admiralty to risk a shameful death, he agrees to a dangerous mission which could rank as the greatest defeat of his career - turning spy to light a powder trail to Trafalgar...
This novel was not completed due to the authors death but includes a description of what he intended. Some editions of the book also contain the short stories ‘Hornblower and the Widow McCool’ and ‘The Last Encounter’