1799-1802: The third novel by C. Northcote Parkinson featuring Richard Delancey.
In the Fireship Delancey secured an enviable commission in the Royal Navy. He is now posted to Gibraltar to command the sloop Merlin for convoy protection in the Mediterranean. Overcoming problems of discipline, gunnery and sail-drill among his crew, Delancey quickly proves his mettle by capturing an enemy ship during the siege of Valletta. But the story reaches a climax in two great battles fought against a Franco-Spanish squadron at Algeciras and later off Cadiz. It is then that Delancey hears of a rich prize for the taking, but it is touch and go whether he will make the capture in time.