A Commander at last, George Abercrombie Fox knows that life in the King's Navy is still a hard one. He will have to fight twice as hard to hold onto his position, and three times as hard to gain advancement, and so security for his family on the Thames. He has a ship to command too, Minion, but leader of his squadron is his old enemy Lord Lymm, who will now send Fox into battle. Fox carries out many daring raids up and down the French coast, but Lord Lymm is determined to bring down this young upstart and deprives him of fighting men. With only a handful of loyal followers G A Fox spies several prize ships and not far beyond a couple of French men of war. Nothing daunted Fox joins battle, only to find disaster facing him...