In March 1818, Captain Adam Bolitho takes command of the new frigate Onward, dismayed at the prospect of separation from his bride-to-be so soon after his return from action in the Caribbean, but grateful for employment in a time when officers without influence or powerful patronage are languishing on the beach, and much of the fleet is being laid up or scrapped. With his stalwart coxswain Jago and the midshipman David Napier, in whom he sees a reflection of his younger self, Adam must accept both the honour and the challenge of commanding His Britannic Majesty's Ship Onward, confronting old enemies and ambitious rivals to forge an uneasy alliance against corsairs and privateers in the Mediterranean.