December 1803: A French invasion fleet is poised to cross the Channel and storm the beaches of southern England. A member of Napoleon's inner circle-disaffected by Napoleon's creeping tyranny-contacts the British naval intelligence service in hopes of defecting to London. His escape plan calls for a rendezvous at an international chess tournament in Frankfurt-a rare opportunity for him to travel outside France. Naval intelligence sends its top man-and best chess player-Captain Thomas Grey, to orchestrate the Frenchman's escape to England. But Grey's mission changes dramatically when the defector demands that his pro-Napoleon daughter come with him-expecting Grey to act not just as escort but kidnapper.

The second novel in J. H. Gelernter's already lauded Captain Grey series, Captain Grey's Gambit continues a story that is "smart, fast, twisty, and dangerous" (Lee Child) in a "richly imagined early nineteenth-century world" (Richard Snow).