Darius has been sent by the First Sea Lord to destroy the French fleet sheltering in Basque Roads by the use of fireships. Using fire to destroy good ships is not a task he relishes but he is determined to do his duty and prepares a number of fireships ready for the attack. However, when the time comes to use them, his endeavours are thwarted by Admiral Gambier who commands the British fleet.
Ignoring an order to abandon his attempt and return to the fleet, Darius and some of his trusted crew take the fireships into Basque Roads where the French fleet are stranded on the shoals but disaster strikes. The fireship Darius is on explodes and he is engulfed in flames and thrown into the air whilst the blazing ship disintegrates beneath him. His horror stricken crew race to where they have seen the fireball plunge into the sea, certain he is already dead but knowing that, if by some miracle he has survived, his life would be in ruins and he would never be the same man again.
At long last, Xerxes life long ambition to become spymaster to Sir Arthur Wellesley, a man he admires above all others, has been realised and he sets off for Portugal. He has as his role model his mentor from his days as a boy in India and is determined to have the same sort of relationship with the general as McCannon had. However, being Wellesley’s spymaster isn’t as straight forward as he thought and things go from bad to worse. With just one last chance to redeem himself he sets off for Oporto, currently occupied by the French, to undertake the almost impossible task of finding a way for the British army to cross the impenetrable barrier of the River Douro and attack the French stronghold.
Genre: Thriller
Ignoring an order to abandon his attempt and return to the fleet, Darius and some of his trusted crew take the fireships into Basque Roads where the French fleet are stranded on the shoals but disaster strikes. The fireship Darius is on explodes and he is engulfed in flames and thrown into the air whilst the blazing ship disintegrates beneath him. His horror stricken crew race to where they have seen the fireball plunge into the sea, certain he is already dead but knowing that, if by some miracle he has survived, his life would be in ruins and he would never be the same man again.
At long last, Xerxes life long ambition to become spymaster to Sir Arthur Wellesley, a man he admires above all others, has been realised and he sets off for Portugal. He has as his role model his mentor from his days as a boy in India and is determined to have the same sort of relationship with the general as McCannon had. However, being Wellesley’s spymaster isn’t as straight forward as he thought and things go from bad to worse. With just one last chance to redeem himself he sets off for Oporto, currently occupied by the French, to undertake the almost impossible task of finding a way for the British army to cross the impenetrable barrier of the River Douro and attack the French stronghold.
Genre: Thriller
Used availability for Clarence Cook's Those Who Serve