In 1781 - French privateers were wreaking havoc on the shipping lanes between Ireland and England. In the King's Navy, fortune and glory could to be found aboard her frigates. Ambitious Lieutenant, Quentin Howell, has just been reassigned to the Stag. Little does he know the adventure that awaits him will be more than he bargained for when he joins forces with Second Lieutenant James Hotspur. The two become fast shipmates in short order sharing the same birth, training the midshipmen for close quarter action and hardening gunnery crews for the heat of battle. When the chase for the privateer Briton ends in a draw, Howell devises a plan to clandestinely board the damaged ship, in a battle for prizes that can only be captured at sea.