Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin pursue a heavy American privateer through the Great South Sea. Their ship, the Surprise, is now also a privateer, the better to escape diplomatic complications from Maturin's mission, which is to ignite the revolutionary tinder of South America. Aubrey will survive a desperate open-boat journey and come face-to-face with his illegitimate black son. Maturin, caught up in the aftermath of his failed coup, will flee for his life into the high, frozen wastes of the Andes. They will be reunited at last in a breathtaking chase through the stormy seas and icebergs south of Cape Horn.

Patrick O'Brian (1914-2000) was born Richard Patrick Russ in England. During World War II, he and his wife were involved in British secret-service activities. After the war he changed his name to Patrick O'Brian. He began his career as a novelist, biographer, and translator. Starting in the 1990s, Mr. O'Brian, then in his seventies, achieved the critical and popular recognition that was his due.