1796. A diminutive, Corsican-born French general has inherited a ragtag army and turned it into an unstoppable fighting force. Within months, Napoleon's storm rolls across Italy and strikes a lethal blow against the Austrian empire. But while the soil of Piedmont and Tuscany runs with blood, another battle takes shape on the mysterious Adriatic Sea. Alan Lewrie and his 18-gun sloop, HMS Jester are part of a squadron of four British warships and sail into the thick of things. But with England's allies falling, Napoleon busy rearranging the world map, and their squadron stretched dangerously thin along the Croatian coast, the British squadron commander strikes a devil's bargain: enlisting the aid of Serbian pirates.