Captain Turnhouse RN—Bloody Nick—is still in the Mediterranean, nursing his experimental frigate and enjoying the mixed blessings of being favored by Old Jervie, a hard but just taskmaster.

The French are still reeling from the shock of the Battle of the Nile, the Ottoman Empire is hastening into decline, the Spanish are in their customary disarray, and the Barbary Rovers are enjoying a resurgence. The Mediterranean is in a state of chaos—ideal for a predatory young captain, even if at first in an unreliable ship.

Bloody Nick makes his somewhat erratic way from the coast off Barcelona to the Siege of Acre and the equally erratic Sidney Smith, touching the shores of Egypt and Malta en route before being brought up short off Venice. In process, he adds a little to his store of prize money and more to his reputation as a wild and often lucky captain. He also discovers there is such a thing as bad luck, that it is possible to take too many chances.