After only one night with his bride, Hornblower, as commander of the frigate Hotspur, sails for duty off the French Coast to keep Napoleon from invading England.

In the wake of a humbling incident aboard a canal boat in the Cotswolds, young Captain Horatio Hornblower arrives in London to take command of the Atropos, a 22-gun sloop barely large enough to require a captain. Her first assignment under Hornblower's command is as flagship for the funeral procession of Lord Nelson. Soon Atropos is part of the Mediterranean Fleet's harassment of Napoleon, recovering treasure that lies deep in Turkish waters and...

Captain Horatio Hornblower and the undaunted crew of the Sutherland set sail to rival the exploits of Napoleon's ships.

Once again the indomitable Hornblower risks his career in the fight against Napoleon. Allied with him is his old love Marie. She is by no means the least of the obstacles in the way of his return to the arms of Lady Barbara.

Hornblower's new mission is a delicate one because he must maintain good diplomatic relations with Russia and Sweden at all costs and, at the same time, keep Napoleon's forces out of the Baltic.

The last Hornblower novel & two short stories.