Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin pursue a heavy American privateer through the Great South Sea. Their ship, the Surprise, is now also a privateer, the better to escape diplomatic complications from Maturin's mission, which is to ignite the revolutionary tinder of South America. Aubrey will survive a desperate open-boat journey and come face-to-face with his illegitimate black son. Maturin, caught up in the aftermath of his failed coup, will flee for his life into the high, frozen wastes of the Andes. They will be reunited at last in a breathtaking chase through the stormy seas and icebergs south of Cape Horn.