Lieutenant (jg) Kathleen Ann Shannon has a mind of her own. Her neurosurgeon father urged her to attend Harvard and medical school. She opted for Annapolis and the small ships that go in harm's way - the destroyers of the United States Navy. As the leader of the first group of women on a frigate, Kathy encounters not only the day-to-day challenges of being a naval officer, but the added obstacles facing a woman assuming a traditionally male position. Command of a captured drug vessel brings Kathy new dangers, and the attention of Lt. (jg) Roy Hobbs, an engineer assigned to help her sail the drug ship into port. Her personal life becomes confusing when she is forced to choose between Roy and neurosurgery resident Dr. Dana Mansfield. Kathy must utilize all her training and instincts to solve the problems standing between her and happiness.

J. P. Mathews began writing during a thirty-one-year career in the U.S. Navy, which took him to thirty-seven countries on five continents, and to several Washington assignments. Career experiences at sea and ashore, together with U.S. and overseas travel, have provided material for numerous short stories and magazine articles published since he became a full-time writer in 1989.

A Command of the Heart is his second book for Avalon.