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It's the afternoon of August 11, 1718, in the middle of a naval battle off Kate Masaro Sicily.

On the quarter-deck of a British ship, 13-year-old officer Cadet, John Bing,

stands near a cluster of senior officers. Among them is the fleet's commander, John's

own father, George Bing. Next to his superiors, John tries to do his best to hide his fear,

but inside he is terrified of the scene unfolding before him.

A few days ago, war broke out in Europe between Spain and a British-led alliance.

Now a battle is raging in the Mediterranean. All day, John has watched from afar as the

British fleet engaged their Spanish enemy from a distance, but now his ship is heading into the

thick of the battle. As his British vessel moves alongside a Spanish flagship, John grows increasingly

tense. He struggles to calm his nerves, as one of the British sailors next to him shouts for

the Spanish to lower their colors or face destruction. When the enemy flagship fires a broad

side in reply, John involuntarily ducks and covers his head, powering. When he looks up, he sees

his father glaring at him. Shame reddens John's face, and even as his father shakes his head and

disgust, John can't keep from trembling, flinching at every cannon's firing and whincing with every gunshot.

Despite showing his fear during the Battle of Cape Pizarro, the young John Bing's first

experience of warfare is a success. The Spanish fleet is roundly defeated, and Britain wins

maritime superiority in the Mediterranean. John's father is rewarded with a noble title when the

king names him the first Viscount Torrington. But British hegemony at sea will not last. The alliance

that defeated Spain will falter, and 38 years later, another maritime battle will take place in

...