Fishing captain Jean Cotterell is rescued by a French frigate--"The Hortense"--off the Grand Banks of Nova Scotia in May 1794. His fishing vessel has foundered and he is the sole survivor. "The Hortense" is part of Republican Admiral Jan Van Stabel's great fleet of more than 100 ships bringing corn to France. Life on "The Hortense" is like France under the Terror: chaotic, ungovernable, and obsessed with savage, radical political theories. Separated from the French fleet in the Western Approaches, she is intercepted by two British frigates, and Cotterell finds himself embroiled in the heat of battle.