Hornblower captures the French vessel, Le Reve, and is asked by Pellew to sail her back to England so that she can be outfitted for the English navy, and also, as a favor, to convey the unusual Duchess of Wharfedale back home. Unfortunately, Le Reve, Hornblower, the duchess and the crew are captured by the Spanish and imprisoned. There, Horatio finds Kennedy, wasted and hopeless from months in solitary. Against the odds, Horatio must find a way to escape with Kennedy, against Hunter's protests, and with the growing suspicion that the duchess may not be who she appears.

Lt. Hornblower and his mates are sent to accompany a doomed royalist invasion of revolutionary France.

Sir Edward Pellew visits Horatio Hornblower who is jail in Jamaica awaiting his trial on a charge of making a mutiny. His problems began six months earlier when he was appointed Third Lieutenant aboard the HMS Renown under the famous Captain James Sawyer. It soon becomes apparent to several of the officers, including Horatio's friend Archie Kennedy who is aboard ship as Fourth Lieutenant that the Captain is suffering from madness of some sort. He is cruel and sees conspiracies everywhere. Both Horatio and Midshipman Welland prove to be the particular objects of his wrath. The situation is not helped by an inexperience First Lieutenant who does not command the Captain's respect and a newly arrived Second Lieutenant who doesn't seem ready to challenge the Captain in any way.

Before taking the Renown back to Jamaica for their court martial on charges of mutiny, Hornblower, Kennedy, and Bush convince an insecure and indecisive Lt. Buckland, now acting captain, that it would be appropriate to launch a surprise attack on the Spanish fortress at Santo Domingo. Matters are complicated when the inept Buckland incurs the enmity of the local rebels, who now regard them as enemies too. Captain Sawyer's increasing paranoia, deserting seamen, Buckland's growing jealousy of Hornblower, and the duplicity of the Spaniards all complicate the already perilous situation.

The war with France has been over for a year and Horatio Hornblower finds himself on land. With his ship, the Retribution, laid up and his promotion to Commander rescinded as a result, he finds himself a poor Lieutenant in a peace time navy. He has taken to playing cards to make a living. Luck presents itself in the form Sir Edward Pellew, his mentor and former commanding officer. Horatio soon finds himself again promoted to Commander and in charge of a sloop, the HMS Hotspur. He recruits his old shipmate Lt. Bush as his first officer, along with Matthews and Stiles. His task is to transport a French officer to the coast but once ashore, Horatio discovers the French amassing an invasion force. Once again at war, the men of the Hotspur are tasked to lead an advance force against a shore battery ahead of the British fleet. Hornblower soon realizes he has a traitor among his crew. In his personal life, he has to deal with the lovely Maria, his landlady's daughter who has taken quite a liking to him