backdrop of the American revolution. The Courtney family is torn apart as three generations fight on opposing sides of a terrible war that will change the face of the world forever. 'Best Historical Novelist' Stephen King 'Wilbur Smith is one of those benchmarks against whom others are compared' The Times 1774. Rob Courtney has spent his whole life in a quiet trading outpost on the east coast of Africa, dreaming of a life of adventure at sea. When his grandfather Jim dies, Rob takes his chance and stows away on a ship as it sails to England, with only the family heirloom, the Neptune Sword, to his name. Arriving in London, Rob is seduced by the charms of the big city and soon finds himself desperate and penniless. That is until the navy comes calling and Rob is sent across the Atlantic on a ship to join the war against the rebellious American colonists. But on the other side of the Atlantic, unbeknownst to Rob, his distant cousins Cal and Aidan Courtney are leading a campaign against the British. Their one desire is American independence, and they are determined to drive the British out of America - by whatever means necessary. . . A powerful new historical thriller by the master of adventure fiction, Wilbur Smith, of families divided and a country on the brink of revolution.