1663. While commanding a man-of-war in the Mediterranean, Matthew Quinton captures a Corsair pirate under the nose of a Maltese Knight, the sinister Montnoir. But the ?pirate' is soon unmasked as O'Dwyer, a renegade Irishman with a fabulous yarn about a vast gold mine in the African desert. Meanwhile, a shocking marriage has been arranged between Quinton's brother Charles, the Earl, and a lady of doubtful reputation, whose previous husbands have all mysteriously perished. While Quinton's wife sets about discrediting her and saving the Earl from a dire fate, Matthew is charged by King Charles II with accompanying the dubious O'Dwyer to Africa and locating the ?mountain of gold'. With little hope of success, his mission dogged from the start by misfortune, murder and sabotage, Matthew sails for the Gambia. But he soon discovers Montnoir is on the same trail ... AUTHOR: J D Davies was born in Wales and now lives in Bedfordshire. He is the foremost expert on the seventeenth-century navy and recently published Pepys' Navy which won the 2009 Samuel Pepys Award. SELLING POINTS: ? The second in an enthralling series of seafaring novels set in the time of Charles II and Samuel Pepys ? A well-written historical novel with great period detail, a strong plot and likeable characters ? Davies is a leading authority on the Restoration and naval history in general
