A boy with nothing to lose. A navy at war. A lifetime of adventure begins.

England, 1792. Thirteen-year-old Martin Forest is cold, hungry and alone when he stumbles across an armed ambush on a country road.

His decision to intervene saves the family of Royal Navy Captain Charles Bowers—and earns Martin an opportunity he could never have imagined: a place aboard one of His Majesty’s ships.

But life at sea offers no easy escape.

As revolutionary France plunges Europe into war, Martin must learn the brutal realities of the quarterdeck. From the gunsmoke of his first naval battle to the chaos of Toulon, the pirate-infested Mediterranean and the dangerous waters of the Caribbean, courage alone will not be enough.

Along the way come captured ships, secret missions, enemy agents and a war stretching across oceans. And as Martin rises through the ranks, he must learn the hardest lesson of command: knowing when to fight, when to hold back—and when an order must be questioned.

Rich in naval action, period detail and high-seas adventure, Fighting Orders launches David O’Neil’s White Ensign Series—an epic story of courage, command and one young officer’s rise through the Royal Navy in the great age of sail.

This work was previously published as Sailing Orders by David O'Neil.