Ramage is appointed to the Dido, a 74 gun ship of the line and is sent to the West Indies to blockade the French island of Martinique, scene of earlier adventure with the Calypso. Several successful actions ensue and the book ends with suspense over what his next orders will be.

Ramage finally gets a ship of the line with his Calypso crew as a bonus. All he has to do is find another 200+ crew and is off to fight the French in the Caribbean, Excellent series, sometimes based upon actual events. Always a good story with interesting characters, puzzling quandaries, and sometimes quirky solutions. Age of sail tyros should read early in their literary questing for his knowledge and insights into fighting, sailing, and British Navy life during these quite fascinating times. Many set in the Caribbean where Pope lived for most of his writing career enabling him to provide very helpful maps, not often found in fiction, for his scenarios. ( )