1794: The body of an English sea captain is found hanged in the dangerous dockyard area of Genoa, a hotbed of smuggling and sin.
When ex-Captain turned privateer Harry Ludlow and his brother James arrive in the teeming port, the atmosphere - already charged by English and French sailors at each other's throats - teeters precariously on a knife edge.
Encouraged by Admiral Hood himself to investigate the officer's death, Harry takes to the seamy underbelly of Genoa, only to find himself in a terrifying rat's nest of subterfuge and amorality where the only currency is greed...