As the war in England's American colonies entered its third bloody year, the last hope for a negotiated settlement vanished. For the king's fleet admirals, it was a time to initiate assaults that would quash the small American navy once and for all. For the beleaguered colonies, it was a time to launch warships and carry the battle to the shores of England. For ex-British naval officer Patrick Dalton, now a fugitive from false charges of treason, it was a time for choosing sides. Bound by honor to the Union Jack, yet committed by the circumstances to the rebel cause, Dalton could no longer run or hide. The fox must turn and fight—but for which flag? The answer lay in the iron-gray sea beyond the British blockade of America's shores—beyond the three-masted, 74-gun ship-of-the-line Royal Lineage that stood in his way. With only the 18-gun Fury at his command, Dalton sets a course on a traveling wind that would follow the call of the bloodstains on the small cruiser's deck in a desperate gamble to preserve his honor and his life and the lives of the stalwart crew who trusted him.