For Captain Sir Frederick Harris, peace ashore was never going to last.

Wounded in battle and returned to England with honours, wealth and a baronetcy, Frederick finds himself navigating an unfamiliar world of country estates, London society... and marriage.

But he is still a fighting sailor.

When the Admiralty offers him command of Trident, a powerful razee frigate, Frederick heads for the Eastern Mediterranean, where French ambition, Ottoman uncertainty and Russian intrigue have created a political minefield.

His orders are simple only on paper: threaten the Turks without provoking them, destroy French influence, protect British interests — and avoid starting the wrong war.

With loyalties shifting from island to island, Trident may be exactly the weapon Britain needs.

But Frederick is about to discover that diplomacy can be every bit as dangerous as battle.

The fourth volume in Andrew Wareham’s Duty and Destiny series — a sweeping tale of naval warfare, ambition and adventure in the age of sail.