The final Horatio Hornblower story tells of Napoleon’s plans to invade England. Horatio is still married to Maria and pursuing Napoleon. This book was unfinished when Forester died, but he had outlined the plot so we know how it ends. This book also includes two short stories related to characters in the series. Set in 1805, Hornblower and the Crisis finds Horatio Hornblower in possession of confidential dispatches from Bonaparte after a vicious hand-to-hand encounter with a French brig. The admiralty rewards Hornblower by sending him on a dangerous espionage mission that will light the powder trail leading to the battle of Trafalgar.