A rollicking sea story of the American naval officers who proudly called themselves "Preble's Boys." They took their ships to a distant station to defend the new Republic, cowed the Tripolitans, and impressed the British. Finally, Stephen Decatur and the rest of Preble's Boys got their due. Their adventures and courageous acts challenge Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower and they are all the more impressive because their story is true.