It is 1803. Britain is at war with France. Edward Trefusis, to his clergyman father's dismay and his Rear-Admiral uncle's delight, is now a midshipman on the frigate HMS Fortune. What does his first voyage have in store for him? It brings him a terrible task which frightens and horrifies him. It puts him in a danger which not even the oldest sailor on board should have to undergo. But it's because he's a boy that only he can do it, though with a companion for whom he has nothing but withering contempt as well as deep-seated fear. He is soon to have everything he has been brought up to believe...