Napoleon Bonaparte's ambitions for world domination are growing apace, and when Captain Sir Thomas Kydd returns to take up command of his ship Tyger, he finds himself called to be part of a great armada on a mission of the utmost urgency. Britain is alone and isolated in Europe. If the kingdom is to thwart a deadly threat she must move very quickly to secure her position with neutral Denmark. A desperate decision is made by the Cabinet. It sends a sea force to the entrance to the Baltic and pressures the Crown Prince of Denmark to turn over the Danish fleet before it falls into the hands of Bonaparte. Unbeknownst to Kydd, his old friend, Renzi, has been called upon to undertake a parallel diplomatic mission to persuade the Danes to give up their fleet for the duration of the war. Renzi and Cecilia, Countess Farndon, are trapped in Copenhagen when everything comes to a terrible conclusion. In the meantime Kydd is lured ashore and captured by the French, but in a strange twist finds himself released to snatch the future king of France from exile. He returns to find a scene of chaos and terror. While attempting Renzi's rescue, Kydd is witness to the poignant sight, never to be forgotten, of the entire surrendered Danish fleet sailing out of Copenhagen harbor, the ships slowly proceeding one by one.