Volume #3 of the Markham of the Marines trilogy. As the war with France drags on, the Revolution is turning on itself. Markham and his men are assigned to the sloop Sylphide under the impetuous Captain Germain and must escort a group of French Royalists behind enemy lines. It is not long before Germain's foolhardy hunt for glory throws Markham into the midst of a desperate ship-to-ship action.