The Rover

It is the age of Napoleon. France and England are at war, and Peyrol, a retired naval gunner living in the countryside beyond Toulon, distrusts all landsmen and their slogans.

He even distrusts Eugene Real, a naval lieutenant who frequently stays at the inn where Peyrol lodges. But he correctly assesses Real's usefulness to a plan he devises to mislead the English about French intentions.

Peyrol's plot succeeds brilliantly. It even fools the great Admiral Nelson, no mean judge of a ruse. But ...