1801: Hornblower, a man who always preferred action to inaction, first met Lieutenant William Bush on board a ship where the officers were treated with contempt by a mad captain; where good hands sulked and the unruly ones grew restless.
And HMS Renown clawed her way southward on a secret mission to Hayti - where the blacks had rebelled against the hated red-and-gold flag of Spain.
If ever a man yearned for an opportunity to distinguish himself, it was Hornblower - junior lieutenant in a ship of the line...