Captain Jack Aubrey sets sail for the South China Sea with a new lease on life. Following his dismissal from the Royal Navy on a false accusation, he has earned reinstatement through his daring exploits as a privateer. Now he is to shepherd Stephen Maturin—his friend, ship's surgeon, and sometimes intelligence agent—on a diplomatic mission to prevent links between Bonaparte and the Malay princes.

The journey of the Diane encompasses a satisfying diversity of adventures. Maturin climbs the Thousand Steps of the sacred crater of the orangutans; a killer typhoon catches Aubrey and his crew trying to work the Diane off a reef; and in the barbaric court of Pulo Prabang, a classic duel of intelligence agents unfolds, with the French envoys, well entrenched in the sultan's good graces, against the savage cunning of Stephen Maturin.

Patrick O'Brian (1914-2000) was born Richard Patrick Russ in England. During WWII 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.