A lieutenant's rank belying his undistinguished naval career, Richard Delancey does possess a fluency in French that lands him a secret mission for the Admiralty in this second novel in the series. To his chagrin, it goes awry, and Delancey is once again casting about for fresh opportunity. He becomes involved in customs collection on the Isle of Wight, and in thwarting the high-stakes activities of smugglers. Delancey's success there lands him in command of the 22-gun privateer Nemesis. Born in the north of England shortly before World War I, Cyril Northcote Parkinson pursued a distinguished academic career on both sides of the Atlantic, and first became known for "Parkinson's Law," which states that work expands to fill the time allotted to it. Parkinson wrote many books concentrated on British politics and economics. His first fictional effort, a "biography" of Horatio Hornblower, met with considerable acclaim and led directly to Parkinson's Delancey series. "Most fictional heroes of the Napoleonic Wars at sea are as wooden as their ships," quipped London's Observer, "a generalization from which Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey and Professor Parkinson's Richard Delancey can be excepted.