Conrad's The Rover is a novel of naval life in the Napoleonic. After forty years of piracy on Eastern seas, Citizen Peyrol returns to his native France, a country now ravaged and scarred by revolution and war. Looking for peace in which to end his days, he withdraws to a remote farmhouse in a safe harbor where he finds love and joy. But the arrival of young Lieutenant Real calls Peyrol once again to action in a mission of danger, patriotism, and heroism.