The fourth book in the Alan Lewrie series. 1783: His Majesty's secret agent... Back from war in the Americas, young navy veteran Alan Lewrie finds London pure pleasure. Then, at Plymouth he boards the trading ship Telesto to find out why merchantmen are disappearing in the East Indies. Between the pungent shores of Calcutta and teeming Canton, Lewrie-reunited with his scoundrel father-discovers a young French captain, backed by an armada of Mindanaon pirates, on a plundering rampage. While treaties tie the navy's hands, a King's privateer is free to plunge into the fire and blood of a dirty little war on the high South China Sea. Ladies' man, officer, and rogue, Alan Lewrie is the ultimate man of adventure, and Dewey Lambdin writes historical adventure fiction on par with C.S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian. In the worthy tradition of Hornblower, Aubrey, and Maturin, Lewrie's exploits echo with the sounds of crowded ports and the crash of naval warfare.
"Stunning naval adventure, reeking of powder and mayhem. I wish I had written this series."
Bernard Cornwell on the Alan Lewrie Adventure Series
"If Horatio Hornblower is the gentleman's sailor and Jack Aubrey is the thinking man's sailor, Lewrie is of and for the working class. Pugnacious and randy, he's a refreshing sea breeze."
San Jose Mercury News on the Alan Lewrie Adventure Series
"[A] smashing series."
The Washington Times on the Alan Lewrie Adventure Series
