Large in body and spirit, Jack Aubrey throws his heavy frame up mainmasts as if he were a boy of ten. Tendentiously traditional, Aubrey spends his evenings with ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, a brilliant naturalist and occasional spy for the British government. In the quiet of Aubrey's cabin, the two work on their Corelli; after numerous voyages their friendship has mellowed into a touching, if occasionally tempestuous, marriage.

Devotees can expect a number of spectacular battle scenes, shipboard jests, and the historical mimicry for which O'Brian is so famous. Maturin's efforts to persuade Peruvians to revolt against the Spanish crown will send him on a perilous journey across the Andes, while Aubrey will be reunited briefly with his illegitimate black son, and suffer dreadfully under the blustery politics of a Rousseauian.

This audiobook includes an exclusive afterword with the author.