December 1795. A year has passed since Ian Cameron reluctantly sent his uncle's former slave Seona and their son, Gabriel, north to his kin in Boston. Determined to fully release them, Ian strives to make a life at Mountain Laurel, his inherited plantation, along with Judith, the wife he's vowed to love and cherish. But when tragedy leaves him alone with his daughter, Mandy, and his three remaining slaves, he decides to return north. An act of kindness...

Following his recovery after a savage wounding in America, Kydd returns to England to re-assume command of his ship-of-the-line, Thunderer, which is sent to the remote station of Bermuda.