Alan Lewrie, midshipman aboard the frigate Desperate, has helped defeat the French Capricieuse off St. Kitts, but has an even greater cause for celebration: His commission as lieutenant and posting to the brig o' war Shrike, which he joins as first officer. Lewrie takes up patrolling the North American coast, and attempts to induce the Seminole and Muskogee tribes to ally themselves with the British against the nettlesome and rebellious colonists. In negotiation with the Indians, Lewrie finds a willing Indian maiden, but must leave her to return to the Caribbean, and to fight alongside Captain Horatio Nelson in the battle of Turks Island.