There are already several good synopses so I'll skip that. I like Alexander Kent's historical nauticals. A Tradition of Victory (The Bolitho series) is no exception. If you've made it this far in the series you already that. If you are about to purchase this one but wondering if Kent is still managing to spin a good yarn you won't be disappointed. I love nautical fiction and Kent's writing has matured noticably with each book in the series. The only annoying aspect of his series is the necessity to recap all that's come before in little snippets here and there to educate the reader who starts reading the series in the middle somewhere or to remind the reader who's paused for a while. Patrick O'Brian did the same thing. I usuallly skip over those parts.