Blue at the Mizzen ended with Jack Aubrey getting the news of his elevation to flag rank: Rear Admiral of the Blue Squadron, with orders to sail to South Africa. The next novel, never completed, would have been the chronicle of that mission and much else besides. The three chapters left on O'Brian's desk at the time of his death are presented here. Though tantalizingly incomplete, these pages prove that O'Brian's humor, powers of observation, and understanding of his characters were undiminished to the end.

“[T]his all too brief introduction to another salty adventure will provide scholars and O'Brian aficionados with intimate insight into the author's creative process.”—Booklist