18th Century.
England is at war with the French. The East India Company is at risk of losing its trade routes.
Tom Batrick arrives in London. For the past ten years he’s worked his way up the ranks on ships patrolling Canadian waters. Now, at the request of the East India Company, he is to Captain the merchant ship Warley.
But Warley is a disguised warship.
It will act as a decoy to lure pirates, as well as French ships, away from British trade.
But as Tom sails to India and China, he discovers Warley’s mission is not just to fight off enemy attacks. The ship is crucial to the East India Company’s undercover trade in opium.
Outlawed by China, the Company is smuggling opium to bolster its profits, regardless of its addictive and deadly effects.
Warley is considered a perfect transport for the precious cargo. But at what cost to Tom and his crew?