Chapter 1 Summary

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin continue their voyage aboard the private man-of-war Surprise, hired on Royal Navy service. They depart Port Jackson and make course for the isle of Moahu where French influence is threatening British interests. Their mission is successful but seriously disrupted by the presence of Clarissa Oakes, a young female stowaway who causes contention among the crew and officers.

Surprise sails from Port Jackson, Australia, and makes course for England. Captain Jack Aubrey stands on the quarterdeck and ponders events of the previous weeks. He recalls Surprise's visit to Port Jackson and political difficulties encountered because of Stephen Maturin's involvement in a dispute of honor. Aubrey also is angry that Maturin's assistant, Padeen Coleman, is aboard the ship. Padeen had been a prisoner at a penal colony for serious crimes, but Maturin had smuggled him aboard Surprise. Aubrey, unwittingly and...