Cap JAck Aubrey,ashore after a successful cruise,is persuaded by a casual acquaintance to make certain investments in the City. This innocent decision ensnares him in the London criminal underground and in government espionage-the province of friend Stephen Maturin. Is Aubrey humiliation and the threatened ruin of his careerer a deliberate plot? A dark tale is a fitting backdrop to the brilliant characterization and sparkling dialogue which O`Brian`s readers have come to expect.