Vienna--June 1804.
As Jack Aubrey would have said in such a crisis, There is not a moment to be lost!.
Britain\'s only hope is to sink or capture the treasure fleet, and the responsibility of delivering that blow falls to Grey.
Spanish warships will depart Montevideo, Uruguay, carrying 2,000 tons of gold; when the gold is safely in Madrid, Spain will declare war on Britain and ally with France to divide the British Empire between them.
Spain\'s neutrality in Napoleon\'s war on Britain is only a ruse to keep the British Navy from attacking the great treasure-armada now gathering in South America.
In exchange for a gigantic bribe, the Spaniard discloses Spain\'s darkest secret--the actual terms of the Treaty of San Ildefonso with France.
At the glittering debut of Beethoven\'s Third Symphony, a Spanish diplomat meets with Captain Thomas Grey, agent of His Majesty\'s Secret Service.
Vienna--June 1804
