1794: Returning to England, Harry and James become embroiled in a vicious struggle between rival smugglers played out in the English Channel. Witnesses to a bloody confrontation, they flee to Deal—only to find that, behind its picturesque facade, the town is a haven for traders in contraband, seething with corruption and violence.
David Donachie was born in Edinburgh in 1944. He has had a variety of jobs, including selling everything from business machines to soap. He has always had an abiding interest in the naval history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which he drew upon for the many novels he has set in that period. The author of a number of bestselling books, he lived in Deal with his wife, fellow A&B author Sarah Grazebrook.