Although unfinished at the time of the author's death in 1966, this novel delivers a full measure of action at sea. On the threshold of securing his first post as Captain, Hornblower finds himself forced to fight alongside a man whom he has unintentionally helped to court-martial. And for the first time Hornblower agrees to become a spy in his efforts to bring victory to England in the Napoleonic Wars This extant fragment of the final Hornblower novel is followed by the author's notes regarding the novel's conclusion. Also included are two stories - 'Hornblower's temptation' and 'The last encounter' - that depict Hornblower in his youth and old age respectively.