Set in 1803 after the renewal of war with France, Ramage's Trial follows Captain Nicholas Ramage as HMS Calypso returns from Devil's Island while his wife Sarah remains missing. Personal urgency is overridden by orders to shepherd a slow merchant convoy back to England, forcing him to protect civilian shipping when every instinct tells him to search for her.
Bizarre events during the voyage eventually bring Ramage before a full court martial at Plymouth, presided over by Rear-Admiral Goddard, the enemy who has long sought to ruin his career. The naval action therefore gives way to a different threat: Ramage must defend not only his decisions but his honour and life within the legal machinery of the service. Pope uses the trial to expose the vulnerability of even a successful captain to hierarchy, patronage and hostile interpretation of command decisions.
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