Jack Aubrey has just joined a blockade of a French port in the Mediterranean. He's captain of an aging second rate slab-sided ship of the line, strong on crew but relatively weak in the officer department. He's hoping the French fleet will come out and fight but so far they're just sort of hanging out, biding their time.
The admiral of the fleet is doing poorly. The doctors try to order him home but he really wants to stick around and fight the French if they'll just come out.
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Who are all these people and what do they know? 
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