Having received strict and confidential orders from high above, C.S. Forester’s inimitable hero must recapture The Flame, a brig which has been taken over by a band of mutineers. Voyaging to the Bay of Seine in order to rescue the captive Lieutenant Augustin Chadwick from his disloyal crew, Horatio Hornblower must once more fight for the freedom and safety of his people and country.

In an unexpected turn of events, the now world-weary captain Hornblower is propelled towards the gates of his mortal enemy: Napoleon Bonaparte. Having spent a lifetime trying to defeat the French empire, Horatio is desperate to overthrow his opponents once and for all, but with the odds against him, the threat of failure hangs in the air.