A captured frigate. A daring escape. And a Spanish fleet powerful enough to crush Britain’s hold on the Mediterranean.

October 1796. Lieutenant Lord Nicholas Ramage is ordered to carry the beautiful Marchesa di Volterra safely from Corsica to Gibraltar aboard the tiny cutter Kathleen. But when he encounters a dismasted Spanish frigate eight times his size, Ramage cannot resist the impossible challenge.

Using bluff, ingenuity and an explosive new weapon, he seizes the enemy ship, only to find himself drawn deeper into danger. Captured by the Spanish fleet and taken into Cartagena, Ramage discovers plans for a naval offensive that could transform the war.

Disguised as an American seaman, he must escape hostile territory, recover his ship and carry an urgent warning to Admiral Sir John Jervis. With the Spanish fleet already at sea and time running out, the fate of Britain’s Mediterranean squadron may depend upon one young lieutenant reaching Cape St Vincent before the enemy.

Packed with daring seamanship, deception, naval combat and relentless suspense, Ramage and the Drumbeat is the thrilling second adventure in Dudley Pope’s classic Lord Ramage series.