From the clash of mighty battleships at Jutland in 1916 to the cold splendor of the present-day Arctic, The Darkening Sea is a modern seafaring epic that traces the fortunes of the Martin family throughout nearly seventy years of British maritime history.

James and John Martin see varied action from service on battle-cruisers in the North Sea during the Great War to cargo-passenger ships on the exploited coast of 1930s China; from the war of corvette vs. U-boats in the North Atlantic to the long slog of Pacific Fleet protection in a WWII destroyer. Along the way, they find love, disillusion, and fulfillment. The women in their lives—sisters, wives, and lovers—also have their own ambitions in an ever-changing world.