When the tide of war is on the rise, telling friend from foe is a dangerous proposition. It’s 1794, and newly promoted Captain Nathan Peake is dispatched to the Caribbean to take command of the British navy’s latest frigate, the 32-gun Unicorn, a ship with a tragic history of mutiny and murder. Indeed, her previous captain was found washed up in New Orleans with his throat cut, and the men who did it are still at large. But Peake has greater problems to deal with: he must find the French war ship Virginie—sent to the region to spread war, rebellion and mayhem—and stop her at any cost. Along the way, he confronts the seductive charms of La Princesa Negra, the witch queen of the Army of Lucumi, and falls victim to the dangerous intrigues of the American agent Gilbert Imlay.