CHASING THE COBRA recreates the early 19th Century Mediterranean where Barbary pirates prowl free, seizing merchant ships, enslaving their crews and collecting ransom. Especially notorious is Haddim, The Indestructible, an elusive renegade known for his cunning and brutality. It took the fledgling American Navy two campaigns to secure peace in the Med, one before and one after the War of 1812. During both campaigns, Captain Jonathon Coyne is in the midst of the action. Complicating his life is the Contessa Luisa Cortolini, a sophisticate of extraordinary beauty and charm whom he meets at a reception in Siracusa. She lures him into a passionate affair, but he soon discovers that his is not the only heart she fancies. Between fierce battles at sea and duplicity in love, Coyne is tested over and over on land and sea.