Gilly Gilchrist

Hornblower is 4th junior Lieutenant aboard the 4-gun frigate HMS Renown, en route to a secret location. Her captain, Sawyer, is a war hero, but he is also dangerously unstable. Hornblower becomes aware that action of some kind has to be taken but he and the other officers are only too aware of the consequences.

With Sawyer dead, Buckland takes control of the ship, but he is not up to the task, and decides to sail to Jamaica, despite the failure of the mission to capture the Spanish fort on Samana Bay. Hornblower suggests another plan of attack which goes well, although Buckland takes all the credit for the raid's success. But the Spanish capitulation isn't all it seems, and Hornblower will have to come to Buckland's rescue once more before they reach Jamaica.