In December 1577, a fleet of five small ships left Plymouth with Sir Francis Drake in command. By the time the expedition reached the Pacific Ocean only one remained - the Golden Hind. The adventures of Drake as he devastated Spanish treasure ships, charted unknown lands and became the first captain safely to circumnavigate the globe make this one of the most compelling of all human adventures, but Samual Bawlf adds more. He suggests that Drake had secret orders, which he fulfilled and which make him - 200 years before Cook - one of the greatest explorers the world has known.