1812. As Napoleon’s armies march into Russia and Wellington drives the French from Spain, Britain’s fate still rests upon one thing above all else: command of the sea.

Captain Matthew Thompson of HMS Royan, a powerful seventy-four-gun ship of the line, has spent his career defending that supremacy. From hunting Barbary corsairs in the Mediterranean to supporting dangerous raids against French strongholds on the Spanish coast, Thompson has earned a reputation for decisive action and daring independence.

But across the Atlantic, a new threat has emerged.

American heavy frigates are humiliating the Royal Navy in single-ship actions, shaking confidence in Britain’s mastery of the seas. Ordered to confront the growing challenge posed by the young United States, Thompson sails west into a conflict that is as political as it is military.

Yet amid the storms of war, another complication threatens his judgement. Caroline Grant - a fiercely intelligent American woman rescued from Barbary captivity - forces Thompson to question where duty ends and loyalty begins.

From the Mediterranean to the Atlantic seaboard, The Atlantic Affair is a thrilling Napoleonic adventure filled with naval combat, political intrigue, daring operations, and the relentless struggle for command at sea.

This work was previously published as HMS Constitution by Richard Nigel Stembridge.