Between the wars, Commander Kelly Maguire has established himself as a fine leader of men. But with the sudden eruption of the Spanish Civil War and the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, the Royal Navy --- and Kelly Maguire --- are plunged into the thick of the action.

From the horrors of the Spanish Civil War to the whirlpool of action at Dunkirk, from the bitter fighting in the Mediterranean to the carefully orchestrated landings in Normandy, Maguire fights a bitter and desperate war with old friends --- and old enemies. Against a background of deepening crisis and personal tragedy, Maguire's talent for adventure and romance is tested to the brink in the final days of the Royal Navy's greatness.