In 1798 Bonaparte strides across the stage of Europe. He now covets Egypt and the newly commissioned frigate HMS Eleanor deploys into the Mediterranean on a covert mission to help check the tyrant's ambitions. Thus begins The Sailing Master . . . a novel of the sea, and the coming of age for its narrator, Owen Harriet. At just twelve years old, Owen joins Eleanor to serve as cabin boy for his uncle, Captain James Cedric. The boy's mathematical prowess draws the attention of Mr. Lau, Eleanor's sailing master, and due to the frigate's heavy losses at sea, Owen quickly advances. But Owen also possesses a secret, the capacity to perceive and comprehend . . . the Sukiyama.