Once again the story takes up where the previous one left of, this time with Lieutenant Peter Thornton temporarily in command of HMS Ajax at Gibraltar. It is difficult to summarise these books as there are so many twists and turns in the plot but in essence after some fighting with the Spanish Thornton is soon ordered back to England where he is joined by ships of the Sallee Navy. This is where the authors decision to create a fictional history comes into it's own with scenes of the colourful North African corsairs and their lateen rigged vessels, under the command of Isam Rais al-Tangueli, at Portsmouth.
I enjoy following the exploits of these characters in what is another good swashbuckling naval novel and I look forward to the next book in the series. Recommended reading.