Richard Sharpe, fresh from his heroic adventures in India, faces a new enemy when the ship carrying him home is attacked by a fearsome French warship. With the help of a captain in the Royal Navy, Sharpe learns the French ship carries a treaty that could ignite renewed hostilities against the British in India. Now a fateful rendezvous is waiting in the waters off Cadiz.

The rascally Thomas of Hookton, aka Le Batard, and his band of not-so-merry mercenaries are bidden by the Earl of Northhampton to unearth the lost sword of Saint Peter in this recreation of the Battle of the Poitiers in 1356 wherein a severely outnumbered English army defeats the French and captures the Poiters and French King John II.

Richard Sharpe is involved in the war against Napoleon as the protector for the spymaster, El Mirador. He fights through a maze of secrecy and deception to save his career, his life and his sword.

Richard Sharpe is twice a hero in Wellington's campaign to protect Spain against Napoleon, and is looking forward to promotion and eager to be on the leading edge of battle, but other conflicts ensue, including the need to protect his infant daughter and her mother, and the necessity to protect himself from a fellow officer.

Combines the meticulous historical detail and fantastic battle scenes he's famous for with a plot that races at breakneck speed toward the final, bloody battle that threatens to destroy Copenhagen.