“H.M.S. Phalarope” is ordered to the Caribbean but the most deadly enemy is already aboard her.
“January 1782, Portsmouth” His Britannic Majesty’s frigate “Phalarope” is ordered to the assistance of the hard-pressed squadrons in the Carribean. Aboard is her new commander — Richard Bolitho. To all appearances the “Phalarope” is everything a young captain could wish for. But beneath the surface she is a deeply unhappy ship — her wardroom torn by petty greed and ambition, her deckhands driven to near-mutiny by senseless ill-treatment…

“From the Paperback edition.”