Spring 1778
The year marks a complete transformation for Richard Bolitho and his future in the Royal Navy. It is the year that the American War of Independence changes to an all-out struggle against British rule - and the year when he takes command of Sparrow, a fast, well-armed sloop of war.
As the pace of the war increases,
the Sparrow is called from one crisis to another; and when the great fleets of Britain and
France converge on the Chesapeake, Bolitho must be ready to come of age in a sea battle that will decide the fate of a whole continent.