1. By the Mast Divided
In 1793, John Pearce and four companions are seized from a London tavern and illegally pressed into HMS Brilliant. Hostile to naval authority and ignorant of shipboard life, they are placed under Captain Ralph Barclay and must survive discipline, battle and the dangers of an untrained…
2. A Shot Rolling Ship
Pressed into the navy again, John Pearce serves aboard HMS Griffin as it hunts French privateers in the Channel. His chief concern is escaping long enough to reach revolutionary Paris and rescue his ailing father before political violence overtakes him. Pearce’s journey ends in loss, leaving…
3. An Awkward Commission
John Pearce gains promotion, but his fellow Pelicans are sent to the Mediterranean under an officer he considers brutal and unfit. Determined to free them, Pearce first accepts a dangerous commission that draws him into the British occupation of Toulon. The mission exposes him to naval…
4. A Flag of Truce
During the crisis at Toulon, John Pearce is ordered to escort thousands of radical French sailors to the Atlantic coast for release. The transfer is presented as a protected operation, but political hatred and military confusion place the prisoners at risk of execution. Pearce and the…
5. The Admiral’s Game
Lieutenant John Pearce tries to prove that Ralph Barclay secured his position through perjury and abuse. Emily Barclay possesses evidence against her husband, but the law prevents her from testifying directly and makes her nephew vulnerable to pressure. Barclay responds by using family, rank and influence…
6. An Ill Wind
John Pearce and the Pelicans return to Britain hoping to win their freedom and bring Ralph Barclay before a court. The documents Pearce carries could ruin Barclay, but Emily understands that her own security and social position may collapse with her husband’s career. On land, the…
7. Blown Off Course
Pearce seeks Admiralty protection for the Pelicans, but his case against Ralph Barclay appears to lack the decisive evidence. Emily possesses the missing papers and uses them to shape her own future, while Pearce’s friends become involved in an illegal venture intended to secure their independence.…
8. Enemies at Every Turn
After escaping imprisonment, Pearce is pursued by smugglers seeking revenge and by Ralph Barclay’s efforts to destroy the court-martial evidence. William Pitt then offers him a mission connected with the royalist revolt in the Vendée, promising a ship and a chance to recover the scattered Pelicans.…
9. A Sea of Troubles
In 1794, Pearce receives an urgent commission after the Glorious First of June while trying to find Toby Burns and protect Emily Barclay. Smugglers remain on his trail, and controversy over the fleet action places Ralph Barclay’s conduct under renewed scrutiny. Pearce turns his enemies against…
10. A Divided Command
Detained in Naples, Pearce unknowingly carries a letter supporting Admiral Hotham and becomes part of a political manoeuvre within the Mediterranean command. Emily leaves Leghorn while Pearce is conveying private messages for Horatio Nelson, forcing him to pursue her across dangerous waters. A Barbary corsair force…
11. The Devil to Pay
Pearce struggles to repair the damaged HMS Larcher in Palermo while protecting Emily from abandonment and scandal. A faster enemy drives him into an Italian bay, where he is forced to burn his ship and face a court martial for its loss. Admiral Hotham exploits the…
12. The Perils of Command
Pearce attempts to return to Britain and to Emily, who is pregnant with his child. Admiral Hotham and Ralph Barclay both retain the power to obstruct him, while the law allows Barclay to claim legal fatherhood and control Emily’s position. Naval orders and private obligations repeatedly…
13. A Treacherous Coast
In the winter of 1795, Pearce serves aboard HMS Flirt within Horatio Nelson’s squadron while his pregnant lover tries to preserve her respectability in Britain. A former friend, Henry Digby, has become another enemy within the service. Reconnaissance against the French coast leads to raids, the…
14. On a Particular Service
Pearce tries to bring the Pelicans home but must first evade an Algerine warship, renewed impressment and the possibility of hanging for desertion. Forged wills, commercial fraud and murder draw him into a network of deception before he can resolve his legal position. A clandestine assignment…
15. A Close Run Thing
In 1796, Pearce and the enigmatic Samuel Oliphant are trapped in French-held Gravelines. A crew agrees to carry them to England, but the route is controlled by the Tolland brothers, smugglers whose earlier losses have made Pearce a personal enemy. Escape requires him to navigate both…
16. HMS Hazard
Pearce takes command of HMS Hazard with an inexperienced quota crew, four new midshipmen and the unwanted company of the spy Samuel Oliphant. His orders are to warn Admiral John Jervis that Spain may join France against Britain. News of a Spanish treasure ship tempts Pearce…
17. A Troubled Course
After seizing the Spanish treasure ship Santa Leocadia, Pearce and Lord Langholm are trapped in a bay covered by enemy guns. Pearce must lead both the damaged prize and the British frigate through the narrow exit before carrying evidence of Spanish duplicity to Admiral Jervis. His…
18. Droits of the Crown
Pearce awaits a court martial while the government claims the silver from Santa Leocadia as Crown property and denies his crew their prize money. HMS Hazard is placed under Horatio Nelson, drawing Pearce into a clash with Spanish frigates and a mission to evacuate the Corsican…