It is March 1811, and Richard Bolitho is recalled to duty after only two and a half months of precious peace in Cornwall with his beloved mistress Catherine. Promoted Admiral, his choice of flagship and flag captain shock the Admiralty, but Bolitho, poignantly aware of his own vulnerabilitiy, surrounds himself only with those men he can trust completely: the faithful Allday, the withdrawn and intelligent Avery, and James Tyacke, who must confront the sternest test of his loyalty with great personal courage. When diplomacy fails the cannon must speak, and Bolitho, patrolling the troubled waters from Antigua north to Halifax, knows that when war with America comes he must fight an enemy not foreign but familiar, for the freedom to leave the sea forever.
- ISBN10 0745137784
- ISBN13 9780745137780
- Publish Date 1 February 1997 (first published 12 June 1995)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 15 June 2000
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Evans Publishing Group
- Imprint Cherrytree Books
- Edition Large type / large print edition
- Format Paperback
- Pages 360
- Language English