Things quickly go from bad to worse as Emily, Captain Fly Austen, and
young Magpie each find themselves in treacherous waters.
In late September 1813, Fly Austen is ordered back to the American
coast, as England's Royal Navy has suffered a series of humiliating
defeats. Forced to return to sea with a skeleton crew, Fly persuades a
reluctant Leander Braden to accompany him one last time. Emily, fearing
she will be left behind in Portsmouth, disguises herself as a man and
steals aboard Fly's frigate. Meanwhile, young Magpie is captured by a
press gang and hustled aboard a hostile ship, only to find himself in
the dangerous company of the English traitor Thomas Trevelyan.
A shipwreck, a mutiny, and a bloody encounter with American ships on the
Atlantic inflict devastating consequences on all.