Captain William is given a prime commission: HMS Expedient is a 36 gun frigate; she is to be sent to the South Seas on a scientific expedition. For Lieutenant J... » 

Captain William is given a prime commission: HMS Expedient is a 36 gun frigate; she is to be sent to the South Seas on a scientific expedition. For Lieutenant James, whose career had barely begun, his own commission in Expedient out of the blue is equally exciting. But, for these sea officers there is something odd about the nature of their task. «