Whether on land or at sea, can Jack Aubrey stay one step ahead of his enemies? With the Treaty of Amiens, England is at peace. At least for now. . . Accompanied by his friend, ships surgeon and spy Stephen Maturin, Captain Jack Aubrey has returned home to England and the life of a country gentleman. But their comfortable experience is cut short when Jack is made a pauper overnight. He flees to the continent, narrowly escaping debtors prison, only to find himself a hunted fugitive from Napoleons regime as, yet again, war looms. Outstanding dialogue, characterisation, humour and a golden thread of romance. KATIE FFORDE The AubreyMaturin novels, by Patrick OBrian, are so addictive that after I finish one I have to hide the next from myself for a little while in order to do anything else but read. LOUISE ERDRICH