1796: Lieutenant John Pearce is heading home aboard a hospital ship crammed with human cargo, yet the journey is far from plain sailing. Evading capture by an Algerine warship, Pearce attempts to save his disparate band of friends, the Pelicans, from being pressed into service on a British frigate—only for the group to risk being hanged for desertion once home.

While using his cunning to protect his friends, his clandestine relationship with widow Emily Barclay becomes more complicated. In a whirlwind of forged wills, devious trades, contrived murders, and dangerous spy missions, Pearce does not know whom to trust. All he can hope to do is survive.