Abril de 1797, Bahía de Falmouth. Mientras Francia continúa su enconada lucha por la supremacía en tierra y en el mar, la Marina Real recibe un golpe atroz en su propia patria: el Gran Motín. De vuelta en casa tras dieciocho meses de servicio, el comandante de insigna Richard Bolitho se encuentra en el centro de la crisis. Y al parecer, su nuevo superior es un hombre que no tolerará ninguna intromisión...

At the start of the book, Bolitho has to deal with mutiny on other ships while he waits to hear his next orders and take his new admiral on board. How to trust your men and how to build relationships with your chain of command is a theme that carries through the book, while Bolitho attacks a coastal fortress associated with slave traders and fights a theoretically overwhelming French attack. ( )

After O'Brian, not to mention Forester, one has a sense of familiarity with the British Navy in the Napoleonic Wars. This is a good story, competently written, but Captain Bolitho is no match for Jack Aubrey and, worse, he has no Maturin. For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they will like, but probably will not feel the pressing need to continue the voyage.

It is April 1797, Falmouth Bay, and returning home after 18 months' continuous service, Flag Captain Richard Bolitho finds himself at the centre of the Great Mutiny crisis.