1796. Lieutenant John Pearce is going home aboard a hospital ship crammed with human cargo. But added to the difficulties of insufficient ballast to match the heavy swells of the Mediterranean in midwinter, Pearce must also avoid capture by an Algerine warship. His problems are soon mounting when in attempting to steer his disparate band of friends, the Pelicans, clear of being pressed into service aboard a British frigate, the group risk being hanged for desertion once home.

By cunning and bluff Pearce seeks to protect his friends, but his troubled love life with Emily suffers. In a whirlwind of action, there are forged wills, devious trades, contrived murders and dangerous spy missions, with so much deceit that Pearce does not know who to trust. All he can hope to do is survive.