Free from jail, Lieutenant John Pearce is not free from the smugglers whose boat he stole – they want bloody revenge and are prepared to chase him to the ends of the earth to get it. Granted a commission by William Pitt, Pearce evades his pursuers by undertaking a dangerous mission. As high rebellious ambition turns to bloody disaster, Pearce must extricate himself from peril – along with old flame Amelie Labordiere – and rejoin Admiral Howe's fleet. The danger for the Pelicans is only just beginning, however, as Howe's collision with a French fleet climaxes in one of the greatest battles of the Revolutionary War: the Battle of the Glorious First of June.
