Edward Brazier is enlisted by Prime Minister William Pitt to assist his investigation into smuggling activity in Deal. However, with his love Betsy now locked into a loveless marriage with Tom Spafford, a useless drunk, and living as a prisoner, Brazier is distracted from his mission. Having foiled Spafford's plan to steal Betsy away to her family-owned plantation in the West Indies, Brazier finds himself taken captive. Only his ingenuity will help engineer his escape and his cunning use of subterfuge will then allow him to infiltrate the smuggling gangs of Deal in a determined bid to unmask those in control. But with suspicion raised around him and his enemies banding together, can Brazier survive long enough to bring those responsible to justice?

The discovery of an abandoned Spanish merchant ship off the coast of America plunges the Ludlows into a far-reaching conspiracy fueled by jealousy, ambition and nationalistic fervor. The Bucephalas lies trapped under the gaping muzzles of the 32-pounder Spanish guns of New Orleans' harbor fort. It quickly becomes clear that the corridors of the governor's residence are just as busy with treachery, doubled-dealing, and murder as the back alleys of the sweltering city outside.

As war spreads across the globe, Harry Ludlow joins the struggle for the richest trade in the world. When half his crew is illegally pressed into the Royal Navy by the vicious Captain Toner, Harry sets off in pursuit. Toner's ship reaches the West Indies with Harry close behind, and they sail into a maelstrom of piracy, corruption, and murder stirred up by a French privateer.

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.

Eleventh-century Italy: The Byzantine Empire rules much of Europe, but in the Italian states to the south it does so in the face of constant revolt from its unwilling subjects—a strife that extends from the great trading ports to the rich agricultural lands of Apulia. The Lombards, heirs to a northern tribe, are no exception and their leader, Arduin of Fassano, feels the time may have come to rejoin his brethren and rise up in revolt against their Eastern rulers. And so he brings into the conflict the fearsome mercenary brothers, the de Hautevilles, to help him in his quest to destroy the power of Constantinople. Will the might of the Byzantine Empire crush Arduin's revolt? Can his ambitious plan succeed, or will the treachery that stalks the land play into the hands of the Normans?

Having evacuated the King and Queen of Naples ahead of Napoleon's advancing army, Nelson must now await developments in Sicily. In the meantime, he and Emma savor their passionate affair, and when Nelson travels back to Britain with the Hamiltons, he finds he is the toast of Europe. Finally he is given the chance he's been waiting for: off a little-known Spanish cape, called Trafalgar, he will show the world what he is made of!

The second volume in the powerful Crusades trilogy 1096: The Pope has called for a crusade to free Jerusalem, and half the warriors of Europe have responded. Among them is the Norman Count Bohemund, one-time enemy of Byzantium, whose help is required if progress is to be possible. His first task, pushing back the infidel Turks from the holy places of Christendom, calls for an uneasy alliance with old enemy Emperor Alexius. But can the crusaders trust the wily emperor? With past tensions and grudges arising, Bohemund is faced once again with the opportunity to gain power, land, and riches for himself – but will the risks of doing so outweigh the rewards? The crusaders must contend with sieges, open battles, hunger, and want on their journey to mighty Antioch, where they face the stiffest test of their mettle. As defeat threatens, only Norman discipline can save the day.

Honour Be Damned finds the fiery British lieutenant George Markham in the waning days of the French Revolution. The revolution is turning in on itself—Robespierre has met the guillotine—but still the French fight on. After completing the siege of a French fortress in Corsica, Markham and his men are assigned to the sloop Sylphide under the impetuous Captain Germain. Before long, Germain's foolhardy hunt for glory throws Markham and his “Lobsters” into desperate ship-to-ship action. Fortunately, fighting hand to hand is what the battle-hardened Marines do best. Like Markham, Germain has been branded a coward, but in his zeal to restore his good name he sets Markham on another, more perilous venture. This time, Markham must go ashore to escort a group of French royalists on a secret mission. Dodging the French army patrols is difficult enough, but it is particularly hazardous because he is shackled with a French count, a devious Catholic prelate, a young lady, and their contingent of servants. But what is the secret prize they are hunting for? Why have they embarked on this fool's errand? Markham must answer these questions as he untangles the deceit and subterfuge all around him. And he must rely on the loyalty of his men and the ever-grudging assistance of Sergeant Rannoch to succeed in this most unusual and dangerous mission—one complicated by the unexpected arrival of a figure from Markham's past.

Following David Donachie's earlier Conquest trilogy, the de Hautville warrior dynasty shows no sign of falling back into obscurity. This is the first volume in the powerful Crusades trilogy. Eleventh-century Italy: The domination of the Normans, the most feared warriors in Christendom, is causing trouble. At their head is Robert de Hauteville, the “Guiscard,” who has colonised much of Italy and now commands the triple dukedom of the extended Norman family. But Robert has made many enemies, including the ever-powerful papacy in Rome. As Robert successfully suppresses a Lombard revolt, his firstborn, Bohemund – now seventeen and blessed with the strength, height, and military prowess of his father – has come to fight in his army. Already recognised as a formidable warrior, Bohemund seeks to assert his natural right as the heir of his father's dukedom. But with Robert's second son, Borsa, legally entitled to inherit, his quest is not without conflict. A battle between the sons is inevitable, and blood ties will count for nothing.

In the tradition of Patrick O’Brian’s adventure novels and C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower series, A Shred of Honour is an epic of eighteenth-century warfare that introduces Lieutenant George Markham of His Majesty’s Royal Marines. Irishman, papist, reputed coward: Markham is a man with something to prove. The death of his commander—killed by a lucky French musket ball to the throat—provides him with a chance to lead his men to glory. But it’s not that easy. Markham, a foot soldier by training, is no sailor, and he is suddenly left with a band of surly, disgruntled conscripts under his command. The salty marines aboard the frigate Hebe deride his ignorance and undermine his authority. The soldiers from Markham’s old regiment who have been transferred to the Hebe blame him for the fact that they now must spend their days crammed on a ship. Worse, as the winter of 1793 comes, Markham and his troublemaking men must face the expansive terror of Revolutionary France. The fighting takes Markham to the city of Toulon, where he makes the acquaintance of a French soldier named Napoleon Bonaparte. Acclaimed author David Donachie follows Markham through bloody battles, lively seductions, fights with superiors, and run-ins with French spies to offer a stirring tale of derring-do that heats the blood and fires the imagination.

With his fiery Irish blood and well-known reputation for trouble, Lieutenant George Markham leads his embattled Royal Marines against the French in Corsica. His mission: to seize the island. His problem: not just the French, but spies, traitors, and jealous rivals—including jealous husbands. As the bastard son of a Catholic father and a Protestant mother, Markham has a lot to prove. But as a scarred veteran of the war in America and against the French, Markham is battle-hardened in a way too many of his senior officers aren't, and his hardness wins over his men—men whom even their own officers regard as the scum of the earth. With the help of these men, Markham ventures across the island to persuade the veteran war hero Pasquali Paoli to unite the Corsicans behind him. But their loyalty remains torn by a heritage of vendettas, French bribery, and cross and double-cross. Enemies abound, in both French blue and British red, and the only men Markham can rely on are the grim, taciturn Sergeant Rannoch and a man who owes Markham his life: Bellamy, the educated, black Marine. Brimming with violent action and an energetic, pulsating plot, Honour Redeemed is a worthy successor to A Shred of Honour in the gripping Markham of the Marines series.

With barbarians at the gate and enemies within, two men must fight for the soul of the Republic and the greatest empire in the world. Inside a cave hacked out of the rock, lit by flickering torches, two young boys appeal to the famed Roman oracle for a glimpse into their future. The Sybil draws a blood-red shape of an eagle with wings outstretched: an omen of death. As the boys flee from the cave in fear, Aulus and Lucius make an oath of loyalty until death—an oath that will be tested in the years to come. Thirty years on, Aulus is Rome’s most successful general and faces his toughest battle. Barbarian rebels have captured his wife and are demanding the withdrawal of Roman legions from their land in return for her life. It is unthinkable for Aulus to agree, and he fears his beloved must be forfeit to Rome. Meanwhile, Lucius has risen to high rank in the Senate, a position he uses and abuses. But when Lucius is suspected of arranging a murder, the very foundations of the Republic are threatened. Lucius and Aulus soon find themselves on very different sides of the conflict—perhaps the prophecy of the eagle will come true after all. History and adventure, brutality and courage combine to powerful effect, making The Pillars of Rome an outstanding opening to the Republic series.

The long-awaited return of the Bucephalas to the safety of the Cinque Ports is interrupted by a disastrous engagement in the Channel. The looming shape of a merchantman becalmed in fog presents an almost irresistible alllure. But for Harry Ludlow and his battle-weary crew, the pursuit of one last easy prize leads to a desperate fight.

London, 1793: Young firebrand John Pearce, on the run from the authorities, is illegally press-ganged from the Pelican Tavern into brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on its way to war. Shipboard life is hard, brutal, and dangerous—that anyone chooses it suggests that life ashore is even worse. But Pearce is not alone; he is drawn to a disparate group of men pressed alongside him who eventually form an exclusive gun crew, the Pelicans, with Pearce their elected leader. The Pelicans find solidarity in facing together the cruelty of their hard-nosed captain, Barclay, and the daily threat of bullying, flogging—even murder. The one light on the horizon is the captain's wife, Emily, who is also aboard and new to life at sea. During an action-packed two weeks, as HMS Brilliant chases a French privateer across the English Channel, Pearce discovers the British Navy is a world in which he can prosper, and he and the Pelicans form friendships that will last a lifetime.

It's 1784 and Nelson is sent to the Caribbean to enforce the hated Navigation Acts. While there, he marries Fanny Nisbet. Ordered next to the Mediterranean, he engages in a string of spectacular naval battles: Cape St Vincent, Tenerife, and the Nile. The ravages of war take their physical toll on Nelson, even as he gains the fame and honor he desperately craves.

A chronicle of the fascinating early years of Horatio Nelson and Emma Lyon. Both determined to rise from obscurity, they set about making their ways through the world with corresponding recklessness and precocious ambition. Nelson enters the Royal Navy at the age of twelve and is made post captain at the age of twenty. Emma, luscious but penniless, cannily confronts her limited prospects to rise through the social ranks from teenaged bawd to noblemen's courtesan to celebrated artist's model. Rich in historical detail, this novel offers authentic sea action and a rare peek into London's demimonde, where the lives of a beautiful courtesan and Britain's greatest naval hero collide.

Arriving in the squalid, seething port of Genoa, Harry Ludlow and his partner and younger brother, James, find it a tinderbox of tension, fed by the discovery of a hanged British sea captain and packs of English and French sailors at each other's throats.

Harry Ludlow, forced out of the Royal Navy, becomes a privateer in partnership with his younger brother James. But for the Ludlows, murder and intrigue take more of their time than hunting fat trading vessels. Harry and James find themselves aboard the Navy's 74-gun Magnanime. In command is a captain with whom Harry has crossed swords in the past. When James is found standing over the body of a dead officer, Harry's feud shifts into the background.

July 1940: A month after the evacuation of the defeated and battered Allied forces from Dunkirk, a German invasion of England threatens. In this thrilling historical "what-if," Prime Minister Winston Churchill has resigned without naming a successor and leaders of Parliament are calling for an armistice with Hitler. Meanwhile, the Deputy Director of Counter-Espionage at MI5, Adam Strachan, faces his own daunting task. During a botched burglary, the fugitive Billy Houston commits murder and discovers his victim was in possession of Britain's plans to thwart the German invasion. No patriot, Houston is determined to get the information to the right people and help bring about a Nazi-run Britain. Strachan soon finds himself pursuing Houston through England, from London's blacked-out streets and seedy narrow lanes to the thinly guarded Channel coast and the Isle of Wight, in a desperate bid to stop the missing defense plans from falling into German hands. The clock is ticking, and Britain's immediate future is anything but secure.

Winter 1795: Lieutenant John Pearce, reckoning to have finally ditched his old enemy, Admiral Hotham, has found a new one in Henry Digby, previously a friend. Meanwhile, Pearce's pregnant and recently widowed lover is adamant they cannot be seen together for the sake of their unborn child as she seeks respectability in society. Aboard HMS Flirt as part of the squadron led by Horatio Nelson, Pearce and his Pelicans soon join a reconnaissance mission which results in the destruction of a key French battery—though the success is short-lived. In raids ashore, split loyalties, and bloody sea fights, Pearce must show bravery and resourcefulness to ensure his survival and return to Emily. But the headstrong lieutenant is faced with immense danger, not only from the enemy but also from his own captain. Only luck and Pearce's fierce appetite for battle can save them from the perils ahead.

1794. Lieutenant John Pearce is caught between a feuding trio of admirals. One puts him in a position of danger while another asks him to undertake a hazardous commission in order to protect his friends, the Pelicans. Meanwhile, Pearce is also trying to construct a perjury case against Admiral Ralph Barclay. Barclay's own wife has turned against him, but by law she cannot testify against her husband. Her cowardly nephew has become a pawn in the Admiral's game, the objective of which is to finally silence Pearce.

Justinian, a paranoid leader, desperately wants the lost provinces returned to his rule but must first dispatch his brave general, Belisaurius, to fight the Persians in the East. Justinian grows concerned that Belisaurius will grow successful and courageous in his feats, thus becoming a threat to his power and person. He subsequently dispatches him on a near-impossible mission to North Africa to take back from the Vandals what was once ancient Carthage. Meanwhile back in Constantinople, Marcus Donatus has found favor with Empress Theodora, wife of Justinian, in the hopes of being able to influence Justinian himself.