On a hot night in the Caribbean, a lone Royal Navy ship commanded by a sadistic captain, succumbs to bloody mutiny. With the Peace of Amiens imminent, Captain Alexander Clay and the crew of the Griffin are sent to track down and recapture the rebel ship. But when they arrive in the Leeward Islands, they find that much more is at stake. Smuggling and corruption seem to be rife in those sunlit waters, while ghosts from the past stir in the shadows. The discovery of a hidden French ship of the line, threatening to cut loose and devastate British commerce, will test Clay and his crew to the limit. And who is Larcum Mudge, the mysterious new recruit who has joined the crew of the Griffin?