The Contraband Shore — David Donachie

The first volume in The Contraband Shore trilogy.

1787: Captain Edward Brazier is on a mission. Recently paid off from his frigate and comfortable with prize money, he is headed to Deal to propose marriage to the lovely young widow Betsey Langridge. And while there, he must navigate the bustle of the town's narrow streets busy with illicit and depraved business flowing from and around the ships at anchor.

But all does not go well; between Betsey's brother and guardian, Henry Tulkington, prohibiting the match and Brazier being marked out for trouble by a local smuggling gang, his plans are in disarray. And when it slowly emerges that there may have been a decades-old injustice closer to home, Brazier is caught up in more than he'd bargained for.