An American sailor, named James, who was impressed by the British Navy, rises in ranks during the Napoleonic Wars. Aboard the HMS Flora, a frigate of renown, having been the first ship to fire her carronades in anger, he not only fights the French, but also fights for his life against a treacherous officer and his henchmen. Between battles and boredom, he suffers life aboard a frigate during blockade duty, as well as participating in a grand raid upon the French mainland.
Meanwhile, his brother, Archibald, becomes a sailor and joins the U. S. Navy, as it begins the war against the Barbary Pirates, who, complicit with the British, seize American merchant ships and brutally enslave their crews for ransom. Sometimes, the paths of James and Archibald cross in the Mediterranean port of Gibraltar.
After the HMS Flora is battered in a fearsome storm, James learns that France and Great Britain are at peace. During this short interregnum of war, James is released from his impressment. He journeys home through Ireland, bringing the belongings of his deceased best friend and shipmate, who was killed in a duel, to his friend's grieving family. Then, among other adventures on his way home, he travels to Spain, walking the Way of St. James. Once home in South Carolina, he learns his fiancé had married his jealous and greedy brother, John.
Will James find another love? What treachery will he suffer at the hands of his former fiancé? Will his brother's enemies become his enemies? Will his brother survive the War with the Barbary Pirates?