1808. Britain has outlawed the slave trade - and Ben Hudson is sent to enforce the ban on the far side of the world.

His command, HMS Malvern, is an ageing twenty-eight-gun frigate, worn from years of war and dismissed by the Admiralty as more than sufficient to chase down slave ships.

Off Sierra Leone, Hudson and his crew enter a brutal world of hidden rivers, disease-ridden swamps, and ruthless traffickers willing to kill to protect their fortunes. The enemy is not the French navy, but an entire network of merchants, raiders, corrupt officials, and desperate captains operating beyond the reach of civilization.

As the newly formed West Africa Squadron struggles to stem the tide of human cargo crossing the Atlantic, Hudson is forced into increasingly desperate measures - risking his ship, his crew, and his own life in pursuit of slavers who will stop at nothing to escape.

From violent chases through tropical waters to savage shipboard combat and tense missions along the African coast, The Freetown Squadron is a gripping Age of Sail adventure inspired by the Royal Navy’s real war against the Atlantic slave trade.

This work was previously published as Black Tar by Richard Nigel Stembridge.