In Search of Mademoiselle

In the sun-scorched colonies of 17th-century Florida, where French and Spanish powers clash over territories yet to be named, a disillusioned mariner named Sydney Killigrew searches for purpose after watching his naval ambitions crumble with the decline of the English Navy. When an old friend offers him passage aboard the ship Great Griffin, Killigrew seizes what seems like one last taste of adventure before the dullness of shore life claims him forever. But the voyage delivers far more than he bargained for: a ferocious battle with a Spanish galleon, the dramatic capture of the proud Don Diego de Baçan, and a transformative encounter with the enigmatic Mademoiselle Diane de la Notte. What begins as a straightforward colonial venture becomes a dangerous game of rivalries, passions, and loyalties tested under the brutal Florida sun. Gibbs writes with vivid energy about the collision of empires, the hunger for honor in a world remaking itself, and the way one man's journey through chaos can reshape everything he thought he wanted.