A British whaler has been captured by an ambitious chief in the Sandwich
Islands at French instigation, and Captain Jack Aubrey is dispatched
with the Surprise to restore order. But stowed away in the cable-tier
is an escaped female convict. To the officers, Clarissa Harvill is an
object of awkward courtliness and dangerous jealousies. Aubrey himself
is won over and indeed strongly attracted to this woman who will not
speak of her past. But only Aubrey's friend, Dr. Stephen Maturin, can
fathom Harvill's secrets: her crime, her personality, and a clue
identifying a highly-placed English spy in the pay of Napoleon's
intelligence service. In a thrilling finale, Patrick O'Brian delivers
all the excitement his many readers expect: Aubrey and the crew of the
Surprise impose a brutal pax Britannica upon the islanders in a
pitched battle against a band of headhunting cannibals.