It is 1667 & the mighty naval war between the Dutch & the English still rages. Sir Francis Courtney & his son Hal in their fighting caravel are on patrol off southern Africa lying in wait for a galleon of the Dutch East India Company returning from the Orient laden with spices timber & gold...' The scope is magnificent & the epic scale breathtaking.. . Wilbur Smith is one of thos benchmarks agains whom others are compared' The Times ' Meticulous research supports constant excitement in a fast-moving tale' Washington Post