Hornblower is given a dangerous mission to deliver an emigre French nobleman to a secret rendezvous near Brest while coping with enemy agents in his own ranks.

The war with France has been over for a year and Horatio Hornblower finds himself on land. With his ship, the Retribution, laid up and his promotion to Commander rescinded as a result, he finds himself a poor Lieutenant in a peace time navy. He has taken to playing cards to make a living. Luck presents itself in the form Sir Edward Pellew, his mentor and former commanding officer. Horatio soon finds himself again promoted to Commander and in charge of a sloop, the HMS Hotspur. He recruits his old shipmate Lt. Bush as his first officer, along with Matthews and Stiles. His task is to transport a French officer to the coast but once ashore, Horatio discovers the French amassing an invasion force. Once again at war, the men of the Hotspur are tasked to lead an advance force against a shore battery ahead of the British fleet. Hornblower soon realizes he has a traitor among his crew. In his personal life, he has to deal with the lovely Maria, his landlady's daughter who has taken quite a liking to him—garykmcd

Ioan Groffudd ably repeats his role as British sea captain Horatio Hornblower in this multi-episode series. This episode opens with the British at peace with the French. Hornblower, as well as many other officers, have been reduced in rank,left on land and are being paid half-wages. This leaves them on very poor-footing and Hornblower has been reduced to pawning his overcoat and his sword to make ends meet. Even with this he is in arrears of payment to his boarding house owner. However, her daughter, Maria has eyes for Horatio and covers for him. Meanwhile the French under Napoleon is starting to build a military again. Hornblower is given a new command to sail a Frenchman, who is supposedly opposed to Napoleon, to the shores of France to meet one of his countrymen to obtain information. Instead they encounter a well-established military who capture Hornblower and many of his crew as the result of the cowardice from one of his crew, a young seaman who is the nephew of one of the military leaders. A rescue mission is mounted that may be a bit unbelievable but, nonetheless, is full of action. The title references the fact that person or persons may have betrayed the British cause and exposed the British ranks to the French guard and explores the reason for that treason. Returning to England, Hornblower learns his former landlady and her daughter have fallen on hard times. Hornblower offers financial assistance that he can now afford, but because of improprieties in a young lady accepting money from a gentleman, Hornblower suddenly finds himself in an emotional engagement that he may not actually have a genuine interest.—John Sacksteder <[email protected]>