In 1679 the Caribbean was a dangerous and lawless sea. Jamaica,Hispaniola and the arc of islands known as the "Caribees" were variously claimed by rival nations - notably France and England.The opposite shore, the "Main' or continental coast, was jealously guarded by Spain as the vulnerable frontier of her vast land empire in the Americas. Smuggling was rife. For years the island governments had made up for a lack of men and ships by deploying irregular local forces, which operated as little more than licensed brigands. They had acquired a taste for plunder, and - though officially the region was now at peace - these soldiers and sailors o f fortune were prepared to attack any easy and lucrative target.

In this second Hector Lynch adventure, the young seafarer falls into the hands of the notorious buccaneer Captain John Coxon, who mistakes him for the nephew of Sir Thomas Lynch, Governor of Jamaica. Hector encourages the error so that his friends Jacques and Dan can go free.

Coxon delivers Hector to Sir Henry Morgan, a bitter enemy of Governor Lynch.The captain expects to curry favour with Morgan, but is publicly humiliated when the deception is revealed. From now on Hector has a dangerous enemy.

Befriended by Jezreel, an ex-prize fighter, Hector meets up again with Jacques and Dan, and the four comrades join the great buccaneer raid which marches through the jungle and attacks Panama.

The capture of a high Spanish official's elegant wife leads Hector into a web of deceit. Thanks to his skills as a negotiator, the buccaneers ransom their captive in exchange for safe passage out of the South Sea, only to discover when they arrive back in the West Indies that they are wanted men. Captain Coxon has turned state's evidence and Hector stands accused of murder and piracy. His survival depends on a young Spanish woman with whom he has fallen in love and the secret intelligence he has gained...

In Buccaneer Tim Severin takes us on another cnthralling vovage back to the seventeenth century, this time to the lush and colourfid Caribbean and the Great South Sea.

Drawing on the original diaries and logbooks of men detested bv their Spanishopponents as outright pirates, he brings to life a world of rapacious sea captains,rum-sodden colonial officials,wealthy plantation heiresses, and reckless adventurers,whose fortunes depended on their skill with musket and cutlass,