First published 2007
Captain Jack Malone serves as confidant to novelist Joseph Conrad aboard the British minesweeper Brigadier during World War I. When thick fog blinds the ship in the North Sea, it collides with a German submarine in a catastrophic accident. During the chaos that follows, a promising young ensign dies from enemy fire. Captain Fox-Bourne responds by ordering retreat and abandoning dozens of German sailors to freeze in the icy waters. A military court later clears Fox-Bourne of wrongdoing, but Conrad cannot forget what he witnessed. The famous author decides to write an account of the incident, hoping to push the captain toward confession and redemption. Conrad harbors deeper motives that only Malone fully understands. As Malone travels from England to Africa to Indonesia, he grapples with the weight of friendship, the price of loyalty, and the complex bonds that tie him to Conrad. The story explores how a single moment of moral failure ripples through lives and relationships across continents and years.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, military-fiction, adventure
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, redemption
Setting: North Sea, England, Africa, Indonesia
Period: World War I
288 pages · Paperback · Atria
Content warnings: death, violence