Lieutenant Lord Ramage, in command of the Triton brig, is escorting a convoy from Barbados to Jamaica, normally a routine and tedious chore. But this time Ramage has to be especially vigilant to guard the convoy's precious cargo-a family of important French refugees.

The Calypso and her captain, Lord Nicholas Ramage, venture further into the French-dominated waters of the Mediterranean on an Admiralty mission to sink, burn, and destroy. Aiming to confuse and distract the enemy, Ramage and his men find themselves isolated and outnumbered as they take on the might of Napoleon's fleet.

The vicious mutineers aboard the British ship Jocasta had surrendered their vessel to Spain. Sailing aboard the frigate Calypso, Captain Lord Ramage receives Admiralty orders to recover her by any means.

Captain Lord Ramage's honeymoon in France is interrupted by a sudden end to the Peace of Amiens. Finding themselves on unfriendly soil just hours before hostilities commence, Ramage and his bride elude the grasp of Napoleon's secret police.

Ramage, finally reunited with his beloved Sarah, hopes to spend at least a few quiet weeks with her. Instead, he is summoned by Admiral Nelson himself. His orders: Ramage is to join Nelson's fleet blockading the combined French and Spanish navies in the port of Cadiz. But Nelson's plan is not merely to blockade the enemy's fleet. He intends to confront it head-on in the biggest naval battle the world has ever seen.

Across the English Channel, Napoleon has massed a great invasion flotilla. English forces, under Lord Nelson, are all but paralyzed-not knowing the size, strength, or time of the foreign onslaught. In a daring spy scheme to protect British shores, Ramage is chosen to plumb the secrets of the French, and the penalty for failure is the guillotine.

Captain Lord Ramage and the Calypso return from Devil's Island, but Ramage's new wife Sarah is missing. The captain would like nothing better than to sail home immediately, but instead he is ordered to shepherd a lumbering convoy of merchant ships back to England. On the way, bizarre events lead him to a full court martial in Plymouth, presided over by his old nemesis, Rear-Admiral Goddard. Ramage must clear his name-or face a sentence of death!

Ramage hopes to enjoy a well-deserved leave when he receives new orders: commission and take command of the Dido-a massive 74-gun ship, that carries enough weight of metal to destroy a frigate in a single broadside, or sweep a ship's decks clear of men. Accompanied by the courageous crew of the Calypso, Ramage ventures to sea once again-bound for the West Indies where he faces the challenge of commanding this massive weapon of war.

The lieutenant is summoned by the Admiralty and given command of the brig, Triton. But like the rest of the Navy, Triton's crew has mutinied. Sympathizing with some of their complaints, Ramage also knows that if he fails to deliver three sealed dispatches to admirals off Brest and Cadiz, and in the Caribbean, he will become a convenient scapegoat.