Thomas Paine Kydd, a wig-maker from Guildford, is seized by the press gang, to be part of the crew of the 98-gun line-of-battle ship Duke William. The ship sails immediately and Kydd has to learn the harsh realities of shipboard life fast.

Commander Thomas Kydd and his ship joined Admiral Nelson's command just before the greatest sea encounter of all time: the Battle of Trafalgar. This heart-lurching adventure blends fact and fiction by closely following historical records.

An Admiralty summons to England cuts short Thomas Kydd's service in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. While the crew of L'Aurore can look forward to liberty and prize money, a shadow hangs over their captain: the impending court martial of his one-time commander, Commodore Popham, who led a doomed attack on South America. Following Nelson's de