Captain Robert Fallon of the Osprey is a merchant and a patriot like his father, Michael. He is also a bastard, born of the wife of another man - Justin Fourrier, a powerful and sadistic slave trader, who has sworn to avenge his honor by destroying the Fallon line. Sailing for Fallon & Son, Robert has outwitted and outfought pirates and potentates from the shores of Tripoli to the China Seas. Though always on the lookout for Fourrier's paid assassins, he enjoys the long voyages - they keep him away from Charleston and his half-sister, Catherine, who stirs within him emotions he cannot face. But the rumblIngs of war can be heard echoing across a struggling young nation, and another Fallon is ready to come to the aid of his country. Rumors of a Napoleonic invasion of New Orleans are everywhere, and the British are threatening to try to reclaim the Colonies. With proof that the French are planning to take control of New Orleans, Robert journeys to Federal City to meet with his father's old friend, Aaron Burr. After conferring with Burr and President Jefferson, Robert sails for France, where he will set up the meeting that leads to the Louisiana Purchase. Yet his efforts at maintaining peace for his country, as fervent as his father's had been, are doomed to fail as the War of 1812 begins....