By 1809 the Indian Ocean was the final battleground for the Royal Navy and the French fleet during the Napoleonic era. At stake was Britain's commercial lifeline to India and its strategic capacity to wage war in Europe. In one fatal season, the French wreaked havoc on British shipping and nearly overthrew their dominion of the seas, while storms imperiled both navies. Stephen Taylor dramatically portrays the ordeal of men, women, and children caught at sea in hurricanes, spotlighting such captains as John Stewart of the British East India trade ship Windham, whose zeal and ambition was such that they would rather die than capitulate.