Philippe Kermorvant, son of an English aristocrat and a French nobleman, arrives in Brittany for the first time in his life. He gained experience of brutal warfare as a young officer in the fledgling United States, and Russian, Navies. Now he has three reasons for making his new home in France: his fervent belief in the Republic, his desire to revive the ancient estate of his family and his wish to fight against those whom he has always regarded as his enemy - the English. But with the core of the French fleet on the verge of mutiny and the horrors of Madame Guillotine at their peak, Philippe will have more than warfare, politics and family entanglements to contend with.