This exciting historical novel of adventure is the inspiration for the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, starring Russell Crowe.

The War of 1812 continues, and Captain Jack Aubrey sets course for Cape Horn on a mission after his own heart: intercepting a powerful American frigate outward bound to play havoc with the British whaling trade. Stephen Maturin has orders of his own in the world of secret intelligence, as talk of treason and infiltration by the French becomes more than just rumor. Disaster in various guises awaits them in the Great South Sea and in the far reaches of the Pacific: typhoons, castaways, shipwrecks, murder, and criminal insanity.