War against Revolutionary France stretches across the oceans, and the young officers of the Royal Navy learn quickly that courage alone is not enough to survive it.
Robert has already faced the brutal schooling of life at sea. Once a reluctant midshipman, he has begun to prove himself under fire. But reputation in the fleet is fragile, and the next test is never far away.
In 1795, the war carries Robert far from familiar waters. Ordered across the Atlantic to Halifax and then south into the Caribbean, his ship joins the bitter struggle for control of the sea lanes and the rich islands of the West Indies. Convoys must be guarded, enemy cruisers hunted, and hostile shores attacked as British and French forces contest the region on sea and land alike. For Robert, each cruise brings new trials: dangerous missions, demanding captains, rivalries among his fellow officers, and the ever-present risk that the next order will lead him into battle.
Responsibility weighs heavier now. Mistakes cost lives. Reputation can be won or lost in a single moment.
As Robert navigates the unforgiving hierarchy of the fleet, he must master not only seamanship and battle, but himself. Pride, ambition, loyalty, and duty pull him in different directions while the war presses ever harder upon the men who fight it.
Only those who endure the trials of sea and service will earn the right to command.
From storm-swept crossings of the Atlantic to the thunder of broadsides and the violence of amphibious war in the Caribbean, Tried by Sea and Service continues the sweeping naval saga of a young officer fighting to earn his place in the age of sail.