July 1940. England prepares for invasion, all eyes focused on its borders. But such focus inevitably leaves gaps elsewhere, and Hitler sees an opportunity to carry out an audacious plot that would change the course of the war… The Duke of Windsor, brother to King George VI and former ruler of the United Kingdom in his own right, is a target. Hitler’s intention: to kidnap him and hold him ransom – the ultimate leverage against an embattled and beleaguered British government.
April 1803, and the Peace of Amiens is failing as Horatio Hornblower takes a three-master on a vital reconnaissance mission... On the day of his marriage to Maria, Hornblower is ordered to take the Hotspur and head for Brest - war is coming and Napoleon will not catch His Majesty's navy with its britches round its ankles. With thoughts of his new life as a husband intruding on his duties, Hornblower must prove himself...